One Year Later
by Persiana13
Summary: A chaotic year awaits the Justice League, from serial killers, to the Legion of Doom, to a group of vigilantes that were once their friends.  Set in the DC Persiana-verse, eighth story in the series
1. Chapter 1

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana and Leon/Crisis. _

Chapter 1: A Long Time Coming 

A television screen had static on it, seemingly attempting to pick up a signal. The screen continued to erupt in static for a few moments before an image came up.

It appeared to be a non-descript room of some kind, with a small chair in front of the camera. A white-haired cat-woman dressed in red adjusted the camera and perched on the chair. Her name is Farrah Willows, the heroine Persiana.

Farrah waved into the camera,

"Hey, everybody. Hey, Tigra."

She sighed, shaking her head,

"It's been a rough couple of months, I'll tell ya."

The white-haired woman said,

"I know what you're all thinking, especially you, sis. You're wondering why I went with Leon and the others. To tell the truth, it's really because of him."

Farrah's smile turned into a frown,

"I owe him. I owe him for rescuing me, owe him for helping me be a hero. Not that you didn't have anything to do with it, sis. It's just…it's just that he's done so much for me, and, after seeing him like this…"

She scratched the chair with her claws, getting angry,

"I'm pissed off Fury did this to him. He turned my man in to some kind of weapon. I know Leon is in there, the Leon I know. The Leon that was kind and sweet, gentle to me. The one that had always wanted to be a hero, not some pawn."

She hissed, attempting to tear apart her chair. Farrah took a breath, trying to compose herself, and continued,

"I know what Leon did and I can forgive him for that. I don't know why I can, and I don't care. He can, and I will help him get through it."

She looked back up at the camera, wiping a tear away,

"I know some of the League isn't happy about Fury and what he's done. I'm not either, but I left not because I believe in Fury's cause, but in Leon's. I believe he wants to do the right thing, but that one-eyed bastard poisoned his mind. I have to remind Leon of who he is and, when I do that, I'll come back with him."

She shook her head,

"Sis. Greer, don't hate me for this. I know Diana does, Donna leaving the League, leaving her title as princess, leaving it all behind. I don't know why she's doing that, but it might have something to do with Roy. They've been hooking up again and I think she wants to be close to him again."

Persiana chuckled,

"They're so good together."

She began laughing, remembering some fond memories. After a few minutes, she stopped laughing and continued on,

"Greer, when you find this, we'll probably have moved again. Don't ask what we're doing, because we're not going to say. All I can say is this; I won't be coming back until I can convince Leon that he doesn't have to follow Fury's lead anymore. When that happens, no matter how long it takes, I can change him. Call it love, call it insanity; it is what I think to be the best for all of us. Leon's not some cold-blooded psychopath that likes to kill people."

She got increasingly angry,

"I don't care what GL says or anybody else; Leon is a good man for me. If they don't like it, tell them to kiss my ass."

Farrah leaned back in the chair and shook her head, chuckling,

"I forgot; my emotions, like my senses, are more sensitive. I guess that wasn't totally unexpected."

She looked back up, saying,

"Greer, I hope you and Ted have a wonderful life together. I only wish Leon and I can have the same."

The screen then went back to static…

**Meanwhile… **

Skrull Jacket, the shape shifter impersonating Yellow Jacket, was thrown through several tables in his secret underground lab. The green-skinned shape-shifter looked up, only to get kicked in the face again hard. He landed on a hard table surface and glared at seemingly the darkness,

"You humans are such hypocrites. You claim my species is monstrous, when you are no better."  
>A hard jab to his stomach caused Skrull Jacket to keel over. He groaned, then felt a sharp pain in his neck as he screamed in an alien language. The imposter Yellow Jacket then got thrown across another table full of beakers and sickly liquids. The crash caused all the beakers to shatter, their glass shards carpeting the tile floor. Yellow Jacket looked up, glaring,<p>

"What we did, invading your planet…it was for Skrull Justice!"  
>Leon Maxwell, the red-eyed powerhouse Crisis, stared with his angry red eyes. He said,<p>

"Skrull Justice…meet Avenger Justice."

He raised his hand and fired a white energy blast at Skrull Jacket. The imposter gave one last scream in his alien language as his atoms disappeared.

Then, there was silence.

Crisis brushed off any broken glass and began walking out of the lab, a cold, steady rhythm in his footsteps. For a moment, it would look like he was actually going to smile. But, the precognitive hero had to remind himself something; that, no matter how personal this was to him, it should still be approached professionally. Picking up the laptop and several other data records from Skrull Jacket's lab, he left.

Once he was outside, he took out a cell phone and made a call,

"It's me. It's done."

Next Chapter:

Insanity Ensues aboard the Watchtower as several unwelcome, and very familiar guests, come crashing in. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	2. Chapter 2

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana and Leon/Crisis. A. Fox owns Electrode and Winston. _

Chapter 2: Shocking Return 

Diana, the Amazonian princess and heroine Wonder Woman, was sitting the cafeteria, thinking. She was sort of tuning in and out of a conversation with a friend of hers; Greer Nelson, the former Avenger Tigra. Tigra was explaining about the tape she had mysteriously received and was talking to the raven-haired warrior about it. Diana nodded vacantly at a statement, but, in her mind, something was bothering her.

Donna was always a bit more stubborn and naïve than Diana was, but never like this. Donna walked away, from the League, the Titans, even her own Themysciria. Why? Was it Farrah? Or, perhaps, was it Roy? The two had gone together with Crisis and Fury after what happened. Maybe Donna thought she was still in love, or maybe she wanted to help Roy. Diana could not figure it out.  
>Tigra looked at her friend and said,<p>

"Princess?"

Diana looked up,

"Yes?"

The striped heroine shook her head,

"You look out of it. Something wrong?"

The powerhouse Amazon nodded,

"I'm just worried about Donna. It bothers me that she would leave everything to chase after a dream."

Tigra nodded in understanding,

"Yeah, but, look at it this way; Farrah can be trusted."

She rubbed her hands together in nervousness,

"It's Leon that worries me. I'm scared the path he might be on could only lead to destruction and might end up hurting Farrah."

Diana looked at her furry friend,

"Did you always approve of them?"

The former cop nodded,

"Yeah, at least, before I found out he was spying on all of us like the way he was. I always thought it was just nerves, but, after this, I'm worried. Worried that he might not be who he says he is. Worried that he might be some total sociopath using Farrah for his own gain, and she's going along with it."

Diana sighed.

It was then a loud crash was heard and a familiar voice was heard screaming,

"Hippolyta, no!"  
>It was Steve Rogers, Captain America. Legendary hero of World War Two, he had fought thousands of Nazis and some of the Red Skull's most powerful creations. Now, he was at the mercy of one Amazonian queen who had a very strong attraction with him.<p>

He ran across the hallway, Hippolyta, the blonde queen, in hot pursuit,

"Come back, darling Adonis!"  
>Diana shook her head, still in complete shock,<p>

"I will never understand how this is possible."

Tigra giggled,

"Could be worse. Every Amazon on Themysciria could be chasing after him."

The Amazon princess nodded,

"I was there when Mother made her case to bring Captain America to the island. Two hundred Amazons wanted to fight him. He beat them all. Even Artemis was impressed."

She shook her head,

"Artemis told me it was like fighting a true warrior. For the first time in her life, she had a true challenger."

Tigra said,

"She lost, didn't she?"

Diana nodded,

"Badly."

**Meanwhile, in Zatanna's room… **

Zatanna, the dark-haired sorceress, was meditating in the center of the room, candles and magical symbols painted on the floor and ceilings. She was reciting an incantation to bring back her beloved Wonder Man. As soon as she did, Zatanna would marry him. She chanted in an ancient and mysterious language. Several shining lights appeared above the symbols and, in a moment, Zatanna shouted in the mysterious language.

Suddenly, Simon Williams, the ionic powerhouse Wonder Man, dropped into the room. He groaned,

"What's going on?"

The actor then looked at Zatanna and it all made sense. Simon groaned,

"This can't get any worse."

Just then, there was another flash, and eight familiar faces dropped on the two of them.  
>Electrode groaned,<p>

"What the hell? Why does inter-dimensional transportation always have to hurt?"

He then felt something quite soft on his hand. The electric powered thief said,

"Hey, Winston, did you put on weight?"

Zatanna glared murderously,

"That's my breast, jackass."

Electrode was ecstatic,

"DARLING ZATANNA!"  
>He picked her up and stomped on everybody else,<p>

"I thought I'd lost you for good."

Electrode tried to hug her, which only fueled Zatanna's rage. She slapped him across the face.

Winston shook his head,

"Should've seen that coming."

Fastball looked around,

"Where are we?"

Plunder was curled up into a ball,

"Is that crazy Lady Deadpool here? I can't stand her! She's crazy!"

Zatanna shouted,

"Get away from me, you pervert! I only brought Simon back to be with me!"  
>Electrode then saw Wonder Man and he immediately went on the attack,<p>

"DIE!"  
>The brawl escaped Zatanna's room and quickly began filling the halls.<p>

Vixen, the mystically powered animal heroine, had heard Simon was on board the station and, when she saw him in the brawl with Electrode, channeled the power of a rhino and charged,

"GET AWAY FROM MY MAN!"  
>The whole tower shook slightly as the brawl escalated, and Winston ordered,<p>

"We need to restrain Electrode."

Rip Roar groaned,

"Rip Roar is not going to like this."

**Later… **

Needless to say, the damage down to the Watchtower hallways was more than expected. Though the station was in orbit, it was safe to say that the remaining founders of the League were not happy, especially Batman. The Dark Knight glared at the eight villains,

"How did you get in here?"

Electrode sarcastically remarked,

"We came through the front door, how else?"  
>Superman shook his head,<p>

"What happened, exactly?"

Winston explained,

"Well, after you let us go, we were teleported up by this guy named Deadpool and his Deadpool look-alike group called the Deadpool Corps. They sent me back to my native Earth, Earth Prime, only Deadpool got the idea of taking over and drove Superman Prime insane, probably destroying the dimension and sending us back here."

He exhaled,

"Wow, that's a lot to say in one breath."

Electrode shook his head,

"Speaking of Deadpool, where is the bastard, anyway? He owes me money."

Plunder groaned,

"Please, could you just forget this whole thing happened? I'm really tired."

Fastball declared,

"Not until I rescue my Vixen from Wonder Man!"

Electrode added,

"And my Zatanna!"  
>The two women glared at them. Of course, Hazard, Contessa, and Godiva, three villainesses that had an attraction to Electrode, glared back at Vixen and Zatanna. Hazard, the luck-manipulating villainess, hissed,<p>

"What does Electrode see in you, fat ass?"

Zatanna shot back,

"That pervert deserves everything he gets! I love Simon, and that's final!"

Hawkgirl shook her head,

"Maybe we should just let Zatanna kill 'em."

Superman said,

"No. Electrode, you have to leave, if you promise not to bother Wonder Man."

Electrode looked aghast and horrified. He declared,

"Never! I would rather die!"  
>The avian heroine readied her mace,<p>

"I think I can arrange something."

John Stewart shook his head,

"Shayera, no. It's not worth it."

The Thanagarian warrior pouted,

"You're no fun!"

Winston spoke for the group,

"As the only sane member in this whole thing, let me just say it was not our intent coming here. We'll be leaving."

Electrode gripped the table tightly,

"NEVER! I WON'T LEAVE UNTIL I HAVE MY ZATANNA!"  
>Fastball did the same thing,<p>

"THE SAME THING GOES FOR ME, BUT ONLY WITH VIXEN!"

Plunder looked at the cook,

"I thought you'd want to stay and impress Gypsy, Winston."

Gypsy walked in,

"What's this I hear about Simon showing up?"  
>Winston blushed hotly and swallowed nervously. Plunder nodded,<p>

"I thought so. Rip Roar, you know what to do."

Rip Roar nodded and, grabbing Fastball and Electrode with all his arms, left for the transporters. Plunder then knocked out Winston and hefted him on his shoulders. He tilted his head,

"Ma'am."

As the eight energized out of there, Superman shook his head,

"Did this actually happen?"

Wonder Woman said,

"I have a hard time believing it myself, but it is true."

"HELP ME!"  
>Simon was running for his life, Zatanna, Gypsy, and Vixen all looking to catch him. John groaned,<p>

"Now, we have this to worry about."

Next Chapter:

Deadpool lands in the DC Persiana-verse, but is recruited by a new group of vigilante heroes specializing in black ops. Who are they? Stay tuned!


	3. Chapter 3

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Leon/Crisis, and Bast. _

Chapter 3: Unexpected Visitor 

Deadpool, the red and black clad mercenary, landed from a bright light onto a cold metal floor head first. His neck snapped inhumanly, but he suddenly stood up and straightened it out,

"Oh, boy. This author likes to make inter-dimensional travel painful. Not that that bothers me. He wouldn't dare kill Marvel's only salvation!"

He looked around the empty, dark room,

"Who am I talking to, anyway? Oh, right! The audience! They're the only ones that can hear me!"

"I can hear you, mortal."  
>Deadpool spun around,<p>

"Who said that?"

A woman dressed in Egyptian robes, wielding a scimitar, and having the body of a woman and the head of a lioness, glared murderously at the wise-cracking mercenary,

"You are in the domain of Bast, goddess of vengeance. Leave, or suffer the consequences."

Deadpool blinked,

"Whoa, you're hot! Are you single?"

He then noticed the scimitar,

"Oh, I get it. You wanna fight!"  
>He pulled out his two sub-machine guns,<p>

"Well, say hello to my little friends!"  
>The Merc-with-a-mouth was confused,<p>

"These are my lines? Seriously, who writes this stuff?"

The two began the fight, Bast moving in for a quick strike. Deadpool fired his machine guns, spraying the area with hot, lead bullets. The goddess of felines changed her form to that of a were-cheetah and either dodged or deflected the bullets with her scimitar. She was able to get in close and kicked Deadpool in the chest. Deadpool lost his guns and pulled out his katana swords,

"All right, that's it! Now I'm mad!"

He charged and the sword battle commenced. Bast had to admit; this insane lunatic was keeping up with her. It was refreshing to have an opponent of this caliber; the only other skilled sword wielders were the Amazons and her now dead lover.

Sparks flew as the swords collided with each other. Deadpool taunted,

"Ooh, someone's frisky tonight! So, wanna do it later?

Bast hissed,

"You are no honorable man, despite how skilled you are with a blade."

Deadpool flexed his muscles,

"Oh, come on, what woman wouldn't want me? Look at me!"  
>He then felt the scimitar go through his chest. The mercenary shook his head,<p>

"Ow. That hurt."

Bast pulled out the blade and smirked,

"Not yet, but this will."  
>As she went to slice his head off, Deadpool rolled out of the way and hit Bast with his blades. The goddess roared in pain and dropped to her knee. Deadpool grinned and stared at her backside,<p>

"Sweet, you've got Tigra's ass for sure! Can I pet it?"

Before he could get an answer, however, a raven-haired young woman speared Deadpool into a wall. Her name is Donna Troy, former heroine Wonder Girl, now going by the codename Troia.

Deadpool had his head stuck in the wall. As he struggled to pull it out, Troia came near Bast,

"Are you all right, Bast?"

Bast snarled,

"I will be, once I turn the madman into chopped liver."

Deadpool pulled his head out and blinked,

"Wait, I don't taste good. And besides, liver? Liver's nasty!"

"All right, that's enough, all of you."

Nick Fury, the one-eyed former head of SHIELD, stepped out from the darkness,

"I'll take it from here."

Bast snarled,

"This fool came into my territory, and I was rightfully defending-."

The former SHIELD operative raised his hand,

"I know. I said I'll take it from here."

Bast shook her head and began limping out of the room, her healing factor helping her recover.

Deadpool grinned underneath his mask,

"Nick, buddy! How ya doing?"

Fury said flatly,

"Hello, Wade."

Deadpool laughed,

"Oh, you always were a great guy to hang around with. So, tell me, can I join SHIELD? Can I? I can be the next Jack Bauer! Can you imagine a TV series with me as the star?"

Wade put himself in a heroic pose, speaking in a loud, booming voice,

"Fighting for himself, money, and girls! Ok, just money and himself."

Fury rolled his eye and said,

"Maybe some other time. How did you get here?"

Deadpool looked at him,

"Dude, do you not know? Haven't you been reading everything that's been happening to me and the Deadpool Corps?"

He stood up, placing his hands on his hips,

"I am so disappointed in you."  
>He raised his head and was about to walk away when the one-eyed man said,<p>

"Never mind, it's not important."  
>Deadpool was stunned. He turned and shouted,<p>

"How can I not be important? I am Deadpool, Marvel's greatest property and most original since the X-men! My ass gets kissed by the executives because I saved their company and their fancy jets and fancy meals and fancy suits and fancy…fancy uh, fancy…fancy fancies!"  
>Fury shook his head,<p>

"It's not important how you got here. The point is, you're here, and we could use you on the team."  
>Deadpool waved off,<p>

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Team? As in, more people than me? Sorry, but I work solo. Me and teams don't go well together. Ask the X-men. They're afraid I might steal their thunder. Besides, they're so goody-good it cramps my style. You know, blood splatter and shooting is so much fun!"

Fury smirked,

"Trust me, you'll be doing a lot of that with this team."

He showed Deadpool to the main room, and Crisis was just entering. He was surprised,

"What the? How did Deadpool get in here?"

Persiana shook her head,

"I don't think that's a question that can be answered logically. With Deadpool, it's never logical."  
>Deadpool blinked,<p>

"Persiana and Crisis, here? Damn, I knew things were bad, but this is getting interesting. So, who else-?"  
>He then noticed War Machine, Arsenal, Fire, and Punisher all in the room. He immediately cast his eyes on Fire, the green haired model and spy,<p>

"Well, hello gorgeous."

Bea folded her arms and readied a fireball in her hands,

"Don't try it, bub."

Wade blinked,

"Have you been sleeping with Wolverine? You know he has a kid, right?"

Fury nodded,

"And that's why we're all here, Wade. We're here to hunt down Daken, and make the world a better place, without all the uptight morals."

He declared,

"Welcome to the Howling Commandos!"

Next Chapter:

A new serial killer is targeting heroes everywhere. Who are his first victims? Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	4. Chapter 4

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. _

Chapter 4: The Killer Strikes 

**In France… **

Vivian and Constance D'Aramis were twin sisters who would exchange identities as the Crimson Fox, a French super heroine. Both sisters ran a very lucrative perfume company and both women loved Rex Mason, the hero Metamorpho. Right now, Constance was sitting at her desk, brushing her hair back. Vivian was out playing hero again, and the two had come up with this idea. Both wanted to be heroes, and, since people would tell whether it was twins playing two roles, they came up with the one role for the both of them.

Vivan came in at that moment, still wearing the Crimson Fox costume. She spoke to her sister in French,  
>I have never felt so alive, dear sister.<p>

Constance chuckled,

You can be such a child, Vivian. Now, go get changed.

Vivian stuck her tongue out at her twin, but then scampered off to change. Constance still laughed and then went back to work.

Suddenly, there was a power outage for the building. The working twin grumbled,

Stupid fuse box. I insist on getting a portable generator, but-.

In the middle of her rant, a voice in the darkness said,

"Swish."

Before Constance had a chance to react to her assailant, her throat was slit. She struggled to breathe for a moment, but fell onto the glass table, making it crash.

Vivian, who was still changing in the bathroom, heard the crash. Getting partway decent, she exited the bathroom, calling out,

Constance? What happened?

She took a few steps and felt the glass underneath her feet. Vivian called out,

Constance, the table broke. Why are the lights out?

Vivian stepped closer and then felt something slick on the floor. She bent down and touched it.

It was blood.

The lights then suddenly came on and Vivian was horrified. She saw her sister's dead body and she frantically went for the phone.

However, before she could get a response, a voice behind her said,

"Swish."

Vivian could feel the burning pain in her throat as the knife cut it and she began gasping her air. She collapsed onto the floor and only managed to get a glimpse of her assailant before closing her eyes.

All she could see was a man in a black body suit and black trench coat. He seemingly jumped through the window and onto the pavement.

**Two days later… **

The brutal murders of the two perfume CEOs rocked not just the world, but also the Justice League as well. Batman was presently in the Bat-cave combing through the evidence. He had done so since he found out about the murders, but the Dark Knight was frustrated.

There was no forensic evidence. Nothing. It was as if this killer materialized in thin air, and disappeared again. Batman had even a scanner built by Mr. Terrific and Blue Beetle to detect teleporters, but nothing panned out. For once, the World's Greatest Detective could not figure it out.

Dick Grayson, the Titans Leader Nightwing, and former Robin, was with him, looking over everything,

"I don't get it, Bruce. This guy kills two fairly well-trained martial artists without so much as them defending themselves."

Batman said,

"Which means he or she took them by surprise. It would be odd, considering their senses would have detected another presence in the room with them."

The former circus acrobat thought for a moment before responding,

"Maybe he can negate powers and abilities, or alter perceptions people around him. Make himself appear non-threatening."

Batman nodded,

"That's possible. However he did it, we will find him. And we will make him pay."

Suddenly, there was a voice saying,

"Bang."

As both of the detectives turned, a shot rang out, hitting Grayson in the leg. The wound was not fatal, but it did take the acrobat off his feet. Batman glared at the assailant as he stepped out of the shadows, his gun drawn.

The mysterious gunman only said,

"Bang."

And, a shot rang out.

Next Chapter:

Batman vs. the mysterious killer, with Nightwing's life is on the line. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	5. Chapter 5

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. _

Chapter 5: Confronting the Killer 

The intruder fired his gun, and, as he took aim Batman dove for cover, throwing some Bat-arangs in his direction. The killer shot through several of them and then went to reload. That was the opportunity Batman wanted, and dashed from his hiding spot, kicking him in the face. The killer stumbled back down, his gun disappearing into the darkness. He kicked back up with surprising agility and pulled out his knife.

Batman braced himself as he tried to disarm the knife from the assailant. The assailant came at the Dark Knight, attempting to mince him with the sharp knife. He was surprisingly fast, and managed to cut a few holes in Batman's cape. Batman managed to dodge the attacks and landed an uppercut, flipping the assailant over. The assailant was in the air, but used the momentum and somersaulted to his feet.

Batman threw another Bat-arang, hoping to disarm him. And, that was when Batman saw something that should be next to impossible to do. The assailant lifted his mask just enough to see his mouth and he bit the Bat-arang.

Batman could not believe it. No one should have been able to do that. Yet, this mysterious assailant did. The assailant then lowered his mask, almost like he was smirking underneath it. He then disappeared into the darkness.

Batman kept his guard up. He began navigating the cave, looking for the assailant. Bruce could not believe it. This killer got into the Batcave. His Batcave. He was going to find out who the killer was, and make him pay dearly.

Batman kept moving about, skulking the shadows. This mysterious killer was operating much like he did; almost ninja like, staying to the shadows. Even Batman did not hear him when he arrived. The detective shook his head; he had to remain focused.

Meanwhile, Nightwing was struggling to get up. He checked his leg and, though the bullet did not hit bone, it was still burning with pain. He sighed angrily and braced himself on the table for support, in an attempt to steady himself. The former circus acrobat was breathing heavily, gritting his teeth to block out the pain.

Just then, he felt a cold tip on the base of his neck. The killer had found him. He said,

"Snap."

The killer was about to do just that when, suddenly, Batman tackled him from behind and began wrestling the knife away from the killer. The killer struggled for a few moments before using the knife and slicing into Batman's palm. He then kicked out and went over the edge of the cliff in the Batcave, down a steep ravine. As Batman looked down, he saw no one. It was as if he simply disappeared.

The Dark Knight quickly ran to the computer and began a security sweep of the cave, attempting to pinpoint any trace of the assailant. The sensors and alarms all were triggered, but, by the time they did their sweeps, there was no trace of the assailant.

He was gone.

**Later… **

Nightwing was recovering at Titans Tower in Jump City, explaining everything that had happened. K'oriandr, the heroine Starfire, was at his side, shaking her head,

"Dick, are you sure you are all right?"

Nightwing chuckled,

"I won't be doing backflips for a while, but I'm still in one piece."

He shook his head,

"It's weird, like the guy could move in and out like that without being detected. He even managed to find the Batcave. That's what's even more frightening."

Starfire held onto her boyfriend,

"I am glad you are safe, darling."

Barbara Gordon, the former Batgirl and now Oracle, was wheeling her way in Titans Tower. She had seen the two embrace and a part of her got jealous. She had Nightwing had something a long time ago, but she had to move past it.

Barbara wheeled herself in,

"I'm glad you're all right, Dick. But, I need to tell you something."

Nightwing and Starfire looked at the red-headed computer expert. Oracle continued,

"When I was working for the Suicide Squad, I got to look at a record about an experiment called Onomatopoeia. It was supposed to be development of a super-assassin, capable of the impossible, without super powers."

Both the Titans were surprised. Dick asked,

"Does Batman know about this?"

Oracle shook her head,

"Not yet, but I plan to tell him. Dick, this project was successful, but he escaped. Somehow, he's been conditioned to the point where he only talks by the grammatical onomatopoeia."

Starfire was confused,

"What is an onmat-utopia, or whatever it is you said?"

Oracle said slowly,

"Onomatopoeia. It means words that sound like sounds, like pop or bang-."

Dick then realized,

"Or crack."

He shook his head,

"What was the purpose of this killer?"  
>Oracle shook her head,<p>

"I have no idea. Even Amanda Waller was kept in the dark about it."  
>The red-head shuddered,<p>

"If he's loose, than that means we're all in danger, and there is no telling when, where, or how he'll strike next."

**Meanwhile… **

Gorilla Grodd, the simian telepath and Flash Rogue, was sitting in a secret base he had built beneath the swamp. He shook his head, listening into the projection screen showing the action at Titans Tower. He rubbed his chin in thought,

"Interesting. A very useful development indeed."

He turned around and shut off the screen,

"It appears I will have more time with organizing my Legion of Doom than I had anticipated."

He activated another screen and began looking through the names and powers of every known villain, metahuman or otherwise, that was not incarcerated or deceased. He nodded slowly,

"Excellent. This is truly excellent. Now, all I have to do is bring them together."

Next Chapter:

Batman apprises the situation of the mysterious Onomatopoeia, and Grood recruits his Legion of Doom. Who's in it? Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	6. Chapter 6

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana and Leon/Crisis. _

Chapter 6: Lessons in Grammar 

Oracle and Batman were meeting with several members of the Justice League; Guy Gardner, the red-headed Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Hawkman, John Stewart, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Power Girl, Major Disaster, and Tigra. Oracle began explaining,

"I'm sure you all heard about what happened to Crimson Fox and her sister-."

Guy interrupted, grumbling,

"Yeah, bloody bastard. I can't wait to get my hands on him."

Tigra asked,

"How's Metamorpho taking it?"

There was a loud explosion, as Rex Mason, the shape-shifting hero Metamorpho, roared,

"I'LL RIP HIM APART WITH MY BARE HANDS!"  
>Hawkgirl said,<p>

"He's taking it surprisingly well."

The former Batgirl continued,

"As I was saying, this assassin goes by the name Onomatopoeia and-."

Booster shook his head,

"What?"

Hawkman said,

"Onomatopoeia."

The hero from the future rubbed his ears, trying to clear the wax out,

"Say what?"

Tigra said a little louder,

"Onomatopoeia."

Booster nodded, then said,

"Could you say it one more time? I don't think I heard you."

Everyone shouted,

"ONOMATOPOEIA!"  
>Booster nodded in understanding,<p>

"Oh, I get it."

He then blinked,

"What's an onomatopoeia?"

At this, Hawkman took out a mace and hit the hero from the future in the head. Hard. The gold hero grumbled,

"Ow! What was that for?"

Hawkgirl grinned,

"You don't pay attention."

Guy Gardner smirked,

"Loser."

Batman said,

"Onomatopoeia means a word that describes a sound, like pop or bang."

Booster nodded,

"Oh, now I get it. It's like likely, right?"

Oracle said,

"No, that's an adverb."

The fame-seeking hero blinked,

"Oh, then what's an adverb?"

John said,

"An adverb is a word that describes a verb, like go casually."

Booster blinked,

"I thought adjectives were used to describe things."

Oracle groaned,

"Oh, God."

John grumbled,

"No, an adjective is used to describe a noun. Like, the red car. Red is describing what the car is."

Blue Beetle snickered,

"I take it grammar was not a strong class for you, right, Michael?"

Booster snapped,

"Hey!"

Power Girl grinned,

"That's an interjection, Booster."

Major Disaster added,

"And when Power Girl used an, it means she was using an article."

Tigra joined in,

"And is a conjunction."

Oracle screamed,

"WILL YOU PEOPLE TREAT THIS SERIOUSLY AND NOT SOME DAMN GRAMMAR LESSON? I FEEL LIKE I'M IN GRADE SCHOOL!"  
>She then had a recurring memory,<p>

"No, no Mrs. Morrison! Not the ruler! AAAHH!"

The red-head began huddling into a ball,

"Please. Please don't! Not again!"

Batman sighed; this was not the way to perform a meeting.

**Meanwhile… **

Grodd had collected the names of people that would be part of his new Legion of Doom.

His first pick was Absorbing Man, a man who could take on the properties of anything he touched.

Second was Blackfire, a scorned princess and sister to Starfire.

Third was Chemo, an experiment that went completely wrong and was a walking toxic waste dump.

Fourth was Firefly, an insane pyromaniac that flied around in a specially designed armored suit, wielding a flame thrower.

Fifth was Fatality, a master martial artist who had a vendetta against John Stewart, whom she blamed for destroying her planet.

Sixth was Ignition, a powerhouse armored villain that liked to blow things up.

Seventh was King Shark, an exiled half-god Aquaman had banished from his kingdom.

Eight was Nyola, an Aztec priestess with control over the weather.

Ninth was Parasite, a villain that could absorb the powers and memories of anyone he touched.

Tenth was Scavenger, a hunter of technology and a preparer of a battle with an unmentioned foe.

And last was Vandal Savage, immortal and power mad despot. He was a master strategist, as well as Grodd.

Grodd looked down the list and smirked,

"Yes, this will do nicely. Very nicely indeed." 

Next Chapter:

The Howling Commandos follow a lead that may take them to Daken, but they may get more than they bargained for when they find him. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	7. Chapter 7

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Bast, and Leon/Crisis. _

Chapter 7: Lead to Nowhere 

**Undisclosed location in northern Africa… **

Crisis was leading the way for his team,

"It's just over the next ridge."

Persiana grumbled,

"It had better be, Leon. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get sand out of fur?"

She shook her body quickly, almost like she was shivering,

"I swear, when this is over, I am taking a long shower."

Bast smiled as the sun bathed on her,

"Personally, I have always loved the desert. A little dry, but nothing that cannot be changed if one lives near the river."

War Machine had been running scans of the area. He said,

"We're closing on the camp and…"

He paused for a moment as the armored hero and the others got over the ridge. Rhody said in shock,

"Oh my God."

Crisis swallowed,

"This is bad."

They were looking at a field of bodies. Dead bodies. They littered the ground of this campsite belonging to the League of Assassins, a group of highly trained, highly skilled martial artists and mercenaries dedicated to one man; Ra's al Ghul.

Leon shook his head,

"I don't believe it."

Persiana covered her mouth in horror,

"I've never seen anything like this."

Bast growled,

"I have. A long time ago."

She sniffed the air,

"If this is the work of Daken, I will make him pay dearly for this."

War Machine scanned the area,

"This happened a few weeks ago."

Bast sniffed,

"It seems that this Daken is no longer around."

Crisis drew his lightsaber,

"Or he still could be. Be careful."

The four continued into the campsite. Bast had her scimitar drawn and looked carefully among the bodies. She had seen this type of destruction before, when the Bana Amazons were mostly wiped out. It was such a vivid memory, so many innocent people dying at the hands of an insane maniac. Now, it was happening all over again.

Crisis shook his head,

"Something's here, I can feel it."

Just then, Persiana and Bast caught a shadow out of the corner of their eye. Both the felines turned, but were seemingly staring at nothing. Then, a glitter in the sunlight caught their attention. Farrah said,

"I see something."

Crisis used his super speed and went to the location of the shimmering source. He saw a man, not dressed as one of the League of Assassins, but as a U.S. Marine. Leon noticed the damage done to the soldier's side and asked,

"What happened?"

Farrah came over and began treating him. The soldier had been wounded and left for dead. The sun chapped his lips and was starting to blister his skin. He looked up wearily and said,

"Who…who…are?"

The white-haired feline shook her head,

"Try not to talk. You're injured."

War Machine shook his head,

"What the hell is an American soldier doing here, among the League of Assassins?"

Bast studied the soldier for a moment. His eyes were sincere and his injuries did appear life threatening. She asked,

"Will he survive?"

Persiana looked down,

"I don't know; he needs to get to a hospital right away."

The soldier gripped Farrah's arm suddenly, saying,

"Woman… here."

He then collapsed. War Machine asked,

"Is he dead?"

Farrah felt for a pulse,

"Yeah. There must have been more internal bleeding than I thought."

She looked back at Leon,

"Do you think there's a woman here?"

The goddess of felines immediately began sniffing,

"Yes, there is."  
>She took the form of a lioness and began sniffing for a scent. Within a few moments, she got something and signaled for the others to follow.<p>

A few yards away, there was a collapsed tent. War Machine said,

"More bodies."

The armored hero then said,

"Wait, there's someone alive underneath that!"  
>Crisis and Bast pulled the wrecked tent away and found a dark-haired woman in bloodied clothing. She was visibly weak, but looked like she had huddled into a ball. Persiana looked at her and said,<p>

"She's alive, but she needs help now!"  
>Crisis picked her up,<p>

"There's an American military outpost not too far from here. I can get there if I hurry."

War Machine said,

"We'll catch up."

The powerhouse precognitive hero took the woman's still warm body and bolted at super-speed. The others followed as quickly as they could.

If one were to take notice, one would find that the American soldier's body was out of place. It was, and, as the soldier lay dead, a bloody ooze escaped his body. The ooze itself contained a worm, as if alive. The worm fell harmlessly to the ground and began to wiggle underneath the sand…

Next Chapter:

One person believes the Howling Commandos to be renegade terrorists, and believes that this is all a ploy. Plus, who is the mysterious woman? Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	8. Chapter 8

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I Own Leon/Crisis and Farrah/Persiana. _

Chapter 8: False Perceptions 

**Undisclosed location, Howling Commandos Base… **

Donna Troy, the Howling Commandos member Troia, was a little nervous as she paced about the base. She was seemingly lost or bored, but her mind wandered back to Farrah. She had left hours ago and had not returned, following a lead on Daken. From the way Crisis talked about him, the younger Amazon princess was actually scared of fighting him.

She seemingly wandered what she thought was a private room, but, when the door opened, Donna found Roy in the room. Without a shirt on.

Donna instantly blushed,

"I…I apologize. I had no idea this was your room."

She wanted to leave, but something made her stay. Donna remembered first meeting Roy, and the two hit it off immediately. There was just an instant attraction between the two of them, and the red-headed archer could see it too. Donna's new costume completely accented her curves.

Arsenal walked over to put on a shirt, and a part of him hoped she would leave. The two had not hashed things out since he got back, admittedly; the two were avoiding each other. It was probably for the best.

Donna and Roy then looked at each other. Their eyes met and something seemed to click inside each one of them, as the younger warrior and the archer collided into each other in a maddened rush of passion…

**Meanwhile, at the Pentagon… **

General Sam Lane, father to Lois Lane the famous reporter, was furious. He slammed his fist down,

"How could security be breached liked this? We were infiltrated by the Howling Commandos!"

He was standing before a panel of other generals from various other military branches as he was outlying his alleged 'evidence' of what he called global terrorism.

One of the generals rolled his eyes,

"General Lane, are you here to present more evidence of these so-called Howling Commandos?"

General Lane snapped,

"They are real! And a threat to America's security!"  
>The Air Force general looked down at a piece of paper,<p>

"From what Director Waller told us of this new group, they are actively hunting down terrorists and known drug dealers all over the world, and pose no threat to America's security."

General Lane gruffly remarked,

"Not yet. One day, they will, and we need to take them out now! They've already managed to infiltrate our base in Italy!"

Amanda Waller, the heavy African-American director of Checkmate, stepped out from the shadows,

"We investigated that. I assure you, there were no stolen secrets or serious breach of security. In fact, the man we've come to identify as Crisis was only interested in the medical tent and stayed there to ask the woman he brought in a few questions. Then, he disappeared."

Lane snapped,

"Oh, yeah. I suppose Talia al-Ghul was only a victim in all this! She's in on it too! I want her arrested and interrogated now!"

Amanda shook her head,

"It would be a bad idea to do that, General Lane. She is still in critical condition, but our experts did find out that she had deep wounds, and had given birth. Not recently, as she was delirious and kept talking about Damien. We're assuming that is her son."

The Air Force general asked,

"When did she give birth?"

The director of the Suicide Squad said,

"Unclear. The damage to her abdomen was extensive. It appears Crisis knows who it is. A man by the name of Daken."

She pulled out a file and showed it to Lane,

"This Daken was also responsible for the slaughter of several dozen members of the League of Assassins, which were camped out across the Mediterranean Sea. There was also a U.S. Soldier there, but the odd thing was, he had been dead for months."

General Lane shouted,

"It's a trick! Crisis is behind it all!"  
>The lead General on the panel asked,<p>

"And, if that were the case, General Lane, how should we go about capturing him?"

General Lane answered triumphantly,

"The Metal Men."

Amanda, continuing to maintain her calm, collected demeanor, said,

"The Metal Men project is not currently ready yet. Doctor Magnus says it will be at least another few months before the robots can begin to be field tested."

General Lane scoffed,

"And what do you suggest? Send in a new Suicide Squad?"  
>Everyone in the American Intelligence community knew that the first venture of the Suicide Squad was less than successful, particularly when Cheshire and Captain Boomerang escaped. Cheshire was shot dead, but Captain Boomerang was still at large. However, Amanda had another trick up her sleeve,<p>

"No. I suggest we do nothing for the time being."

The generals were all a bit surprised by this, but Lane was furious,

"You want a bunch of terrorists running around? What if they acquire a weapon of mass destruction?"

Amanda said coolly,

"I am not supporting their actions any more than you do, General Lane. However, they have yet to engage in any serious activity that could jeopardize American lives. When I feel as though there is a significant risk to American lives, then, I will intervene. Besides, they are doing our dirty work under the guise of patriotism."

General Lane shook his head,

"It'll be too late by then! We need to attack now!"  
>Amanda asked,<p>

"And how do you propose we do that, general? We don't know where they are operating out of, or even if they are affiliated with the Justice League, or even how many of them are there. Crisis is good, he is someone with exceptional experience. For now, all we can do is observe and see what happens."

The lead general said,

"We want a moment to consider the options."

The generals quickly discussed the issue amongst themselves and the lead said,

"We have decided to allow Amanda Waller to continue with the observation for the time being."

General Lane was not going to wait. He stormed out of the room, furious. He knew the Howling Commandos were a threat, and he had to stop them at all costs.

The limousine was waiting outside the building. As General Lane entered, he turned to a woman dressed in a military outfit,

"Lieutenant, get Doctor Magnus on the phone. I want to know how close the Metal Men are to completion."

The lieutenant, a woman with short blonde hair, nodded silently and began making the call. General Lane did not want to rely on a failure like the Suicide Squad. He was going to stop the Howling Commandos, for the good of the country.

Next Chapter:

Lives are shaped and reshaped as Troia and Arsenal rekindle their romance. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	9. Chapter 9

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana and Leon/Crisis. _

Chapter 9: Romance Reignited 

Roy and Donna were lying together in bed, naked. The younger Amazon princess rested her head on the archer's chest. She asked,

"How are you feeling, Roy?"

Roy looked down at her,

"Physically or emotionally?"

The raven-haired warrior said,

"Both, actually."

Roy chuckled,

"Physically, sore. Emotionally…"

He paused and looked down at Donna. He had known Donna for a while and there was a lot he had seen, but the red-headed bowman saw something new he had not seen before in her; vulnerability. He said,

"I should be asking you that, Donna."

Donna shook her head,

"I'm fine, Roy. Truly, I am."

She looked up at him, and Roy's suspicions were confirmed; Donna was vulnerable. And scared. She tried not to show it, but Donna could not keep the façade up indefinitely. She said,

"Roy, I need to tell you something."

She sat up, covering her body with the thin bed sheet,

"I came here because a part of me wanted to get away from my sister."

Roy listened intently,

"What do you mean?"  
>Donna explained,<p>

"I mean, my sister has always been Mother's favorite. Always the good girl, always to be in line for the throne and, honestly, after seeing everything she has done, I feel as if my life is so…insignificant. I just need something to show that I can protect the world too."

Roy asked,

"So, you joined up with a bunch of killers and were just now banging someone that betrayed the team?"

Donna looked at Roy,

"We all have our reasons for being here. And I have forgiven you."

She added,

"Perhaps, it is the Fates that are guiding us."  
>Roy listened intently to everything Donna had said. He brushed his hand against her cheek,<p>

"Donna, it's all right. I'm not angry with you."

Donna brushed her hair back, smiling slightly,

"Aren't you even going to ask if we kissed?"

The thought entered Roy's mind, and Donna giggled,

"That woman can kiss, believe me."

Arsenal began laughing as well, just picturing Farrah's reaction to it all. It was completely priceless.

The two began laughing, enjoying their moment. When it was over, Donna curled up next to Roy and said,

"Roy, I want to forgive you for what you did. I know it could not have been easy for you to do what you did, but, after this, I want…I want us to work again."

Roy was a bit taken aback. Ollie was still mad at him for his betrayal, and, he expected Donna to be mad at him as well. She was, but now, having had time to reflect on it, the younger princess had forgiven him.

He nodded,

"All right, we can try it again."

Donna got on top, lecherously purring,

"Good, because I want to start now."

Roy blinked,

"Again? I could barely keep up with you the last time!"

Donna purred in his ear, slightly nibbling on it,

"I'll be gentle. Promise."

As she two locked lips, a voice said,

"Aw, that's so cute!"  
>The two looked up, surprised.<p>

Deadpool was sitting in the chair, leaning back with a bowl of popcorn and a video camera,

"Hey, I'm thinking about releasing a tape called Amazons Gone Wild! Wanna be in it?"  
>Donna glared murderously at Wade Wilson. The Amazon warrior roared,<p>

"GIVE ME THAT CAMERA!"

**Meanwhile, in India… **

Savitar, a villainous speedster that battled the Flash on numerous occasions, was like many other speedsters in that he tapped into the Speed Force for his powers. Though he was once a pilot for the Easter bloc military, he is now a career criminal, engaging in numerous thefts and extortion bits. However, that all ends today.

Savitar was battered into a mountain side. He looked up, but could not seem to detect anything. He shook his head, wondering what could do this. The former pilot looked around, only to have a black clad figure punch him again, hard.

The black-clad figure looked eerily similar to the Flash, but the costume was all black, and there was a red lightning bolt on his chest. Savitar shook his head, trying to keep steady,

"What manner of demon are you?"

The Black Flash did not seem to answer, as he sped around the speedster again, landing a super fast and super strong punch. Savitar tried to absorb the momentum of the punch, but something was wrong. His ability to absorb motion was not working. He quickly darted away, hoping to elude this new speedster.

Savitar did not get far, as the Black Flash seemingly caught up with him and grabbed his shoulder. The next few moments were the most horrifically painful moments Savitar had ever experienced in his life. He could feel his life force being drained away by this thing. Not only that, but the Speed Force also seemed to be affected too. Whatever it was, Savitar let out a loud scream and disappeared from existence.

The Black Flash, for a brief moment, seemed to return to the normal colors of the Flash costume. Then, it reverted back to the Black Flash again. He clenched his fist down and disappeared, tapping into the Speed Force for power…

Next Chapter:

General Lane meets the Metal Men, but there might be a problem as an old robotic enemy returns. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	10. Chapter 10

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Leon/Crisis. _

Chapter 10: Metal Fatigue 

General Lane and his secretary, a lieutenant in the Army, were on their way to a secure research facility in an undisclosed location. The facility was disguised as a seemingly abandoned bunker in the middle of the desert, where, at one time, nuclear tests took place. General Lane and the blonde lieutenant got out of a jeep that had brought them to the location.

The area surrounding the bunker had a several miles of electrical fence running through it, as well as armed guards. From the distance, no one could see even the bunker, as the area had been cleverly concealed from any major highway. Signs had been posted, saying that the area was U.S. Government property. General Lane and the lieutenant walked to the building, saluted by two guards. The two of them saluted back and continued on down the hall.

The security precautions had been taken place, as both had their retinas checked, and their finger prints checked. The two then walked in, as numerous guards stood watch and vigilant in protecting this facility. Scientists were busy doing numerous things; some where debating and analyzing data on computers, others were testing and experimenting formulas, and still others seemed to run around, frantically trying to come up with the next big idea for the military.

However, the room that General Sam Lane wanted to be in was occupied by Doctor William Magnus, a brown haired, tall robotics expert. He was in the far end of the facility, near a specially designed room with numerous examination tables. On each of these tables was what appeared to be an android, but they were in different colors. One of the androids looked female, while the others were more masculine.

In another corner of the lab, however, there was an eerily green metal that glowed, even in the glass. Doctor Magnus looked at the computer models and nodded,

"Interesting."

He took out his pipe and lit it, puffing on it slightly.

"You know this is a non-smoking facility, doctor."

Dr. Magnus turned around, a bit surprised,

"General Lane, what an unexpected surprise."

He quickly put his pipe down and asked,

"What are you doing here?"

General Lane examined one of the robots, a gold one, as he said,

"I just wanted to check up on you, doctor. How are the Metal Men coming?"

The lieutenant watched carefully as Will Magnus pointed out,

"Should she be hearing this?"

General Lane continued examining the androids,

"She has clearance, doctor. Now, I repeat; how are they coming along?"

Doc Magnus nodded,

"Well, as you can see, they are finished, but they need proper field testing. Observe."

He punched a few key strokes and, instantly, a computer model of the basic android was revealed. The doctor explained,

"As you can see, each of the Metal Men has a unique ability that I gave a codename with a particular element. For example, Gold has an analytical mind, Iron has massive strength, Lead protects against radiation, Mercury can liquefy and is highly intelligent, Tin can create interference, and Platinum is our tactical engineer."

He continued to another screen,

"Each of the Metal Men can shape their bodies into numerous forms, allowing for quick adaptability. Also, they are highly durable, able to withstand a tremendous amount of punishment."

The four-star general nodded,

"I admit, I am impressed, Doctor. Now, when will they be combat ready?"

Doctor Magnus said,

"In a few months. I just had them performing basic tasks and need to be recharged, but, as for combat…"

He quietly said,

"Sir, I've become quite attached to them, and I know they are androids, but I feel like they are my children. You understand, right?"

General Lane glared at him,

"Now, you listen to me. I need these robots operational as soon as possible. There are terrorists running around out there, and they need to be stopped! The Howling Commandos must be stopped!"  
>Doc Magnus had never seen the general so angry in his life. He knew Sam Lane was not a patient man, but there was something in his eyes; a sort of animalistic frenzy whenever the general spoke about the Howling Commandos. Doc Magnus said,<p>

"I'll do what I can, but it-."

Sam Lane said,

"I am not interested! Get them on-line as soon as possible!"  
>He and the lieutenant left.<p>

Doc Magnus sighed and sat down at his desk, re-igniting his pipe.

"Are you worried?"  
>Platinum's voice came from the table. She slowly sat up, cables still attached to her side,<p>

"Doctor Magnus?"

Doc Magnus nodded,

"Yes, I am, Platinum. I'm worried what might happen to all of you."

Mercury sat up as well, asking,

"Do you want to do this? We will do as you say, Doctor."

Doctor Magnus shook his head,

"Thank you, all of you. I know how much I mean to you, but, I really should get back to examining this metal."

As he read the results again, the metal he had a sample of was a very strange, alien metal, unlike anything on the periodic elements table. He noticed the green hue and called it veredium. Whatever this metal was, it was definitely more powerful than he realized.

All of this was being observed by a malevolent force known as Thinker. The hologram robot observed through one of the monitors and seemingly disappeared through the system. A plan began to formulate within the android's mind…

Outside, General Lane and the lieutenant were on their way out. Just then, the lieutenant's phone rang. She answered,

"Lieutenant Delgado speaking for General Lane."

The next few seconds was a slight silence as Delgado took note of her electronic tablet computer,

"I understand, sir. Thank you for bringing this to our attention."

She hung up and said,

"General Lane, we may have a situation that calls for your immediate attention."

Sam asked,

"What is it, Miriam?"

Miriam showed the tablet computer to the general. The general could not believe it.

It was the Daily Planet on the website. The headline read,

"Terrorist Cult Terrorized!"

Below it read the author of the article,

"Story by Lois Lane."

Next Chapter:

Grodd's Legion of Doom meets for the first time, and their first target is established. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	11. Chapter 11

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana and Leon/Crisis. _

Chapter 11: Chess Pieces 

Nyola, an auburn haired woman in red robes, grumbled,

"I do not like to be kept waiting. When is that impudent fool coming?"

Parasite, a purple-skinned man, grinned,

"All right by me. Wanna kill some time?"

The Aztec weather manipulator readied a lightning bolt,

"Do you wish for me to kill you instead?"

Vandal Savage, the black-haired immortal conqueror, said,

"Children, please. This is no way to settle your differences. At least wait until Grodd tells us why we are all here."

King Shark, a half-man, half-shark hybrid, said,

"It's obvious, isn't it? Grodd has called on the legendary shark god to aid him in his conquest!"  
>Fatality, a dark-skinned woman wielding a large alien spear and a yellow Sinestro Corps ring, said darkly,<p>

"Any opportunity to take revenge against the Green Lantern Corps is an opportunity I will take."

Ignition cracked his knuckles,

"I can't wait! Grodd wants us to crush heroes, and that's what I'll do!"

Blackfire, sister to Starfire, could see Parasite checking her out,

"Hands away from me, human!"  
>She lashed out with an energy wave attack, flattening the power-absorbing villain into a wall. Chemo stared blankly at the exchange, while King Shark and Nyola began laughing.<p>

Scavenger, a seemingly advanced aged man with one eye missing, was busy checking and re-checking his weapons and his arsenal of technology. Firefly, a pyromaniac that had an armored suit like the said insect, said,

"It's the fifth time you checked your equipment. You're obsessive, aren't you."  
>Scavenger looked at the armored villain,<p>

"For your information, the Justice League has technology that I need for the upcoming battle."

Nyola groaned,

"Here we go again."

Firefly said,

"Are you serious?"

Scavenger nodded,

"Yes, I have had many a-dream that, one day, I will take part in a great battle and I must be prepared for it with as much technology as I can gather. That is why I am doing this. Grodd has promised me the most sophisticated equipment in his arsenal, and I am to use it to the fullest benefit of my battle."

Firefly took all that in and said,

"I see. You forgot your medicine again, didn't you?"

Scavenger took out a rather intimidating trident-like weapon,

"You fool! Don't you see? This monster is coming and I must prepare for it! The heroes don't know it because they don't want you to know it! They're all out there, waiting to turn their backs on humanity the moment this foe rears his ugly head, but not me! I am going to be the salvation of the human race, more so than any other hero out there!"  
>Vandal blinked,<p>

"And here I thought I was the ego-maniac."  
>The plunderer of technology glared,<p>

"Shut up, Savage."

Grodd entered,

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, please. This is no way for civilized human beings to behave."

Absorbing Man entered behind the simian telepath and the gorilla directed,

"Everyone, please have a seat at the table."

The assembled villains took a seat, Parasite limped to his chair.  
>Grodd took a moment to look at the assembled villains and said,<p>

"As you are aware, there have been some changes to the Justice League's roster since Persiana came to this world well over a year and a half ago."

Parasite smirked,

"Yeah, she is a real sex kitten. Woof!"  
>Vandal Savage rolled his eyes and said,<p>

"I assume there is a point you are trying to make, Grodd."

Gorilla Grodd looked insulted,

"My dear Savage, I would think that, out of everyone here, you would appreciate a little poetry and theatrics before we get to the point."

He returned to the group's attention,

"I have asked you all here because each of you has a vested interest in seeing the League befallen. My new recruit Thinker has recently uncovered some information about the Howling Commandos, a new group that is separate from the League and tends to go after smaller, less bothersome targets."

Parasited gulped,

"I've heard of those guys. They're ruthless."

Grodd nodded,

"Quite, which is why we are not going to go after them and instead, go after the League."

Blackfire growled,

"I do not know whether you know this or not, but we are only twelve. They are many more."

Nyola nodded,

"I am forced to agree with Blackfire. We cannot simply withstand the onslaught of the Justice League, no matter how well we prepare."

Grodd smiled darkly,

"That will not be a problem. With my plan, we will have an army to fight the Justice League."

Ignition smirked,

"Nice. Who's working with us?"

The simian telepath said,

"We first take Gorilla City, kill Solovar, and then implant a suggestion in all the inhabitants of Gorilla City to serve me and begin a rampage of destruction that will force the League to go at them. Then, once that is accomplished, we will have them right where we want them."

Chemo continued to stare out at the table. King Shark gloated,

"Hah-hah! Grodd is wise with his plan, just as he was wise to bring me, King Shark, with him!"

Savage nodded,

"And, what will Thinker be doing while we are going about this mission?"

Grodd explained,

"Thinker will be dealing with Howling Commandos. It has come to my attention that General Lane is adamant in their destruction and has demanded that the Metal Men, a top secret government project, be used in apprehending or killing the Howling Commandos. I would use Thinker to reprogram the Metal Men, and unleash them on Crisis and his Howling Commandos."

Absorbing Man nodded,

"That's good."

Savage nodded in agreement,

"It is, but there is still one thing. If we attack right now, the League would get the jump on us quickly. We would need to divide them."

The psychic ape began smiling,

"And that is why I have Chemo here. Chemo is a living radioactive glob that we will use as a weapon."

Nyola asked,

"And, how will we do that?"

Grodd smiled,

"Simple. We will drop him from an airplane over a major metropolitan city."

Parasite blinked,

"You wanna wipe out Metropolis?"

Savage shook his head,

"Not Metropolis, a metropolitan city, like New York or Gotham."

Grodd said,

"Actually, I was thinking of Bludhaven, the city next to Gotham."

Fatality nodded,

"I see. They would raise their defenses in Gotham if we did that, but not so much if the target was Bludaven."

Grodd pointed to her,

"Precisely."

Savage said,

"It is a brilliant plan, Grodd. Just one question; when do we start?"

Grodd said,

"Soon. Let the League continue to think things are safe for the moment. Then, when their defenses are down, we strike!" 

Next Chapter:

General Lane confronts her daughter Lois about the recent headline, and Crisis tells the other Howling Commandos what he found. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	12. Chapter 12

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. _

Chapter 12: Reading All About It 

Clark Kent, the hero Superman, looked at the headline,

"Perry White allowed this?"

Lois shrugged,

"What? I just had the information brought to me. You can't prove this was caused by the Howling Commandos."

The farm boy from Kansas shook his head,

"Lois, they're killing innocent people."

The black-haired reporter looked at him skeptically,

"I had no idea Kobra and his insane snake cult was so innocent. Clark, this cult was responsible for thousands of people dying all over the world."

Clark said,

"And you think by murdering them you can stop it from happening? A lot of those people were being manipulated by one guy."

The Man of Steel could hardly believe Lois' seemingly nonchalant attitude towards this. Earlier, a computer file from a disposable account had been uploaded onto Lois' home computer, and, as Lois read through it, she discovered that a major snake-cult organized by a man named Kobra had been crippled.

Kobra was a charismatic ego-maniac who had been using his fanatics to carry out and support terrorist activities all over the world, assassinating foreign dignitaries, rigging elections, and all sorts of other horrible acts of violence and crime. According to Lois, someone or something, through coercion, was able to get to Kobra and cut the head off the snake, literally.

Lois looked at the file she had printed out,

"Clark, first of all; the League hasn't done anything to stop them-."

Clark interrupted,

"That's because Batman hasn't been able to locate them yet. He's getting close, or so I was told."

Lois continued,

"Clark, I know you want to save everyone, but there's nothing that ties the Howling Commandos to any of this. Besides this snake cult, a major terror cell in the Middle East was seemingly killed by members from within the group, and a cartel in Mexico was wiped out by its competition along with local heroes."

She came near him and shook her head,

"Come on, Clark. You really believe the Howling Commandos are behind it? Well, if you do, then this guy Crisis is good, and he seems to be a capable leader."

Superman shook his head,

"He's not the brains behind it, Lois. Fury is. That guy is a maniac and Crisis is being used."

Lois responded,

"Maybe Crisis knows it and wants to be used. Maybe he believes he's doing the right thing."

Superman said,

"I don't see how."

Just then, the alien hero could hear something. He said,

"Lois, your father is coming here. He's in the elevator now."

Lois blinked; why would her father be here? Was it about that article she wrote?

The elevator doors opened and General Lane stepped out, along with Lieutenant Miriam Delgado. The two had an aura about them; an aura of anger, especially from the general.

General Lane walked with a purpose to Perry White's office, opened the door and slammed it shut. Lieutenant Delgado waited outside and looked at Lois. She said,

"Mrs. Kent."

Lois was a bit surprised,

"I had no idea Dad got a new secretary."

Lieutenant Delgado smirked,

"A lot's changed since you last met your father."

Even though the shades were drawn, Clark could hear every word that was coming out of the office. He winced at the volume, especially from General Lane.

The general practically shouted,

"Lois published a lie! I want you to retract the story!"  
>Perry White munched on his cigar,<p>

"And why's that?"

Lane slammed his fist down,

"The Howling Commandos are behind this attack! They are terrorists! They've breached a top-secret military installation in Italy!"  
>The editor of the Daily Planet looked at the general,<p>

"From a source in the military, the base commander was upset about that, but, there was a life that was saved because of it."

General Lane growled,

"I'm aware of that. Talia al-Ghul. She's in on it too! She probably just got injured like that so she could get in our base! We're under attack, and you're letting my daughter tell the enemy everything."

Perry White stood up, leaning on the desk, glaring at the general,

"Now, you listen to me, General. I run a respectable newspaper, and I trust Lane's judgment and sources. If you've got a problem with that, get out. There is a thing as freedom of the press in this country, and I intend to use it."

He added with a smug smirk,

"If you're so against the Howling Commandos, right a letter to the editor. I might just publish it."

Lane clenched his fist and wanted to punch White in the face. However, he maintained his composure and said,

"We're not done here."

He exited the office and called for the lieutenant. The two then left.

Perry White watched them leave. He knew this was not over, but he had his principles to stand behind. This was war, and White aimed to win…

**Meanwhile… **

Crisis returned to the Howling Commandos base and had all of them gather in the situation room. He said,

"The woman that I got to the base was named Talia al-Ghul."

Arsenal nodded,

"I've heard of her. She's Ra's al-Ghul's daughter."

Bast hissed,

"The League of Assassins. Gods, I hate them so much."

Fury said,

"What else you got, kid?"

Leon continued,

"Well, according to what I could get from Talia, the League of Assassins had been observing the Justice League for a while and knows a little about us and the alternate reality. They captured Daken in the hopes of interrogating him to find more information."

Persiana said,

"And, I take it that it didn't work out."

The red-eyed swordsman nodded,

"That's an understatement. They underestimated Daken's ability to heal and he got loose. Needless to say, what happened at the camp was the result of their capture gone wrong."

Troia asked,

"What about the baby?"

Leon shook his head,

"I don't know. Talia said she was taken by surprise and she thought she heard Daken say something, like he was communicating with someone else before he cut her and took the child. I don't know who though."

He sighed,

"That was all I could get before the doctors had to perform surgery on her."

War Machine said,

"I heard this guy General Lane wants us dead."

Deadpool grinned,

"Yeah, we got a bad guy to fight! Let's kill him in his sleep!"  
>Fury said,<p>

"We're not touching the guy! We concentrate on our objective; find Daken and the baby."

Arsenal shook his head,

"But, the trail's cold."

Leon rubbed the bridge of his nose, suddenly feeling tired. He wobbled a bit before he got his balance back. Deadpool smirked,

"Here comes the vision!"  
>Leon shook his head,<p>

"I don't know what I just say, except it was a biohazard symbol."

Deadpool said dramatically,

"Duh-duh-duhhhhh!"  
>Punisher glared at the mercenary,<p>

"Must you do that?"

The wise-cracking mercenary said,

"It helps set the mood."

Next Chapter:

The Black Flash returns and faces off against the Justice League as it attempts to drain the Speed Force from one of its members. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	13. Chapter 13

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. _

Chapter 13: Speed Freak 

Jay Garrick, the original Flash, was busy in Keystone City, picking up where Wally West, a hero by the same moniker, was killed in battle against the Anti-monitor. A speedster who fought since World War Two and had slowed aging, Jay was anything but slow when it came to heroics. Currently, the elderly speedster was teaming up with Tigra and Blue Beetle as Dr. Arthur Light, the villainous Dr. Light, was terrorizing the city.

Dr. Light stomped down, throwing a tantrum,

"No! No! No! I won't let you spoil my fun!"  
>He unleashed a brilliant light attack. Blue Beetle, real name Ted Kord, lowered his goggles and fired a grappling hook. He swung on it and kicked the villainous Light in the chest,<p>

"Lights out!"  
>Tigra, real name Greer Nelson, dashed on top of Light, pinning him down. She glared like a cat had cornered its prey,<p>

"Now, stay down."

Dr. Light tilted his head, lecherously smiling,

"You're hot."

He shot Tigra off, but the striped were-cat landed on her feet with ease. Jay sped up and slammed a fast punch into Dr. Light's face,

"That's for hitting the lady."

Dr. Light had little stars around his head as he fell into unconsciousness. Greer smirked,

"Nice one."

Jay looked at the feline heroine and shook her head,

"In my day, no lady would be wearing what you are in public."

Tigra shrugged,

"I like it. It makes me feel all loose and frisky."

She kissed Blue Beetle on the cheek. Jay laughed,

"Well, I take it its official."

Blue Beetle nodded,

"Yep, we're getting married."

Just as it would seem that the heroes would ride off into another sunset, suddenly, there was a loud explosion. Actually, several loud explosions.

The three of them turned and saw Black Flash standing in the middle of the street. Ted blinked,

"Wait, is that…Flash?"

Tigra sniffed,

"I don't know, but this is bad."

Black Flash seemed to be completely focused on Jay Garrick and sped after him. Jay sped away, but was being quickly pursued by the mysterious Black Flash. Tigra looked at Ted,

"What do we do?"

Beetle said,

"We call in the League."

Jay Garrick shook his head,

"You may dress like Flash, but you're not him!"

The Black Flash was silent and continued the chase. He tried to get in close, but, with a fresh burst of speed, the classic Flash managed to pull away at the last second. The Black Flash continued the chase, determined to catch his quarry.

Jay Garrick sped through a building, vibrating his molecules through it. He thought he had gotten away, but the Black Flash was right behind him, vibrating through the same wall. Jay could not believe it; very few speedsters could do that. He suddenly stopped and the Black Flash also stopped. He turned and said,

"Wait, are you really Flash?"

The Black Flash only stared blankly for a moment, as if trying to study what the elder Flash would do. Then, it sped seemingly away. Jay blinked, and then could feel himself getting weaker.

Black Flash managed to slip behind him and began draining the Speed Force from him. Jay screamed and managed to look at Black Flash. For a moment, he saw the true Flash's colors on his uniform and said,

"You've got to fight this."

The mysterious Black Flash managed to say,

"Jay…Help…me."

That voice. Jay remembered that voice from a long time ago. But, it could not be him. It could not be. Could it?

At that moment, Hawkman came barreling in at high speeds and slammed his mace into Black Flash, knocking him into the side of a building. Though hurt and unconscious, the Black Flash was alive. John Stewart and Hawkgirl were with him and the former soldier asked,

"Are you all right?"

Jay nodded, trembling as he got up,

"I'm fine, but I am a little weak. We've got to get him to Watchtower. I know him."

Hawkgirl said,

"That guy looks like Flash."

The scientist said,

"It is Flash."

John shook his head,

"Wally?"

Jay said,

"Not Wally. Possibly the greatest speedster of all time…Barry Allen."

Next Chapter:

A startling truth is revealed as to the identity of Black Flash. But, how is it Barry is alive? Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	14. Chapter 14

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana and Leon/Crisis. _

Chapter 14: Zoom-Zoom 

The Black Flash was restrained inside the Watchtower lab as Jay Garrick explained,

"When this Flash touched me, I could see him. I could see Barry Allen. It was like he was trying to fight some sort of darkness inside him."

Mr. Terrific and Atom looked at the data. Atom, the miniaturized hero, said,

"It does appear that this Flash, whoever he might be, is tapping into the Speed Force, but I have never seen Speed Force readings like this."

The African-American scientist said,

"I thought Barry Allen died in that big battle in the first crisis. At least, that's what Crisis said."

Batman looked at the Black Flash. He definitely could tell this was not Wally, but he could not be sure if it was Barry Allen either. The Dark Knight said,

"Is there any way for us to restore him out of the Black Flash persona?"

Mr. Terrific answered,

"Well, the only way that's obvious right now is to drain speedsters of the Speed Force, but since that isn't a viable option yet, we haven't thought of a good substitute."

A scanner suddenly began emitting a signal. Blue Beetle looked at the computer,

"It says here that Black Flash has a beacon of some kind in his costume, and is transmitting a signal."

Batman ordered,

"Trace the signal now."

**Meanwhile… **

Hawkgirl and John Stewart were talking about Black Flash. The Thanagarian warrior shook her head,

"I was hoping it was Wally, in a way."

John nodded,

"Yeah, but it could be Barry Allen as well. When I first became a Lantern, I heard stories about Barry when he was the Flash. He cracked as many jokes as Wally did, but he definitely had a scientific mind to back it all up."

Hawkman walked by and asked,

"Shayera, are you all right? I heard what happened."

John cast a glare at the avian hero, but the red-headed heroine did not notice,

"I'm fine, Carter. Thank you for your concern."

As Hawkman continued onward, John looked at his girlfriend,

"Shayera, how could you just give in like that?"

Hawkgirl asked,

"What do you mean?"

Green Lantern shook his head,

"I mean, the guy has been trying to get you into bed with him since we first heard of him. He's obsessed."

Shayera said,

"Since when did you become so overprotective?"

John shook his head,

"Since the way that guy looks at you every time he walks by. He makes excuses just to be near you."

Shayera rolled her eyes,

"Oh, come on. You actually believe what he says about us being fated together? Come on, John. Don't tell me you're jealous."

The former soldier looked at her,

"I'm not jealous. You're just ignoring the fact he's using you."

Shayera folded her arms,

"I can take care of myself, John. What, are you going to baby-sit me everywhere I go next? I'm not pregnant again, if that's what you're wondering."

Green Lantern was about to say something when Batman called on the ear piece,

"Hawkgirl, bring a team together and meet us at the Javelin docks. We have a lead."

Hawkgirl responded,

"On my way."

She looked up at John,

"We'll settle this later. Do you want to come or not?"

John nodded,

"Yeah, sure."

**A few minutes later… **

With Batman piloting, John Stewart, Jay Garrick, Blue Beetle, Atom, and Tigra were flying in the Javelin. The tigress asked,

"So, where are we going, exactly?"

Flash explained,

"There was a beacon on Black Flash and the signal trace led it to a location somewhere in Keystone City."

As the Javelin landed and the passengers disembarked, a cold wind swept through the Mid-American Town. Tigra shivered,

"I have a bad feeling about this."

Batman said,

"Everyone, stay alert."

"Good advice; maybe you should follow it!"  
>A yellow blur came seemingly out of nowhere, leveling the Dark Knight. The others braced for a fight.<p>

Jay snarled,

"I know that voice too. Where are you, Zoom?"  
>The yellow blur stopped. It is, in fact, was a man dressed much like the Flash, only instead of the traditional red with yellow lightning bolts, the colors were inverted; a yellow costume with a red lightning bolt. He said,<p>

"It's Professor Zoom to you, Garrick! And, I'm surprised that you wouldn't remember me, a fellow scientist!"

He shook his head,

"You caught Black Flash, which is impressive, but that won't save you!"

The deranged scientist sped into them. Flash zipped in front and tried to chase him away from the team. Tigra and Blue Beetle ran to Batman and helped him up. Ted said,

"We have to continue following the signal."

Batman stood up,

"Hawkgirl, you and Lantern try and help Flash as best you can."

With that, Batman and the other heroes were on their way to find the source of the signal.

Next Chapter:

The battle continues as Professor Zoom attempts to stop the League. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	15. Chapter 15

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. _

Chapter 15: Positives and Negatives 

Batman, Blue Beetle, and Tigra had found the Professor Zoom's lab. The other Justice League members were holding off the speedster professor and, hopefully, there would be some clue as to the true nature of the Black Flash. The tigress looked around the lab, which contained numerous scientific formulas and possible notes and theories. She quipped,

"Something tells me that, when we find out what Black Flash is, we'll also find the flux capacitor."

Beetle chuckled,

"Or maybe even a time machine."

Batman glared at the couple,

"Get busy."

Greer placed her hand around Ted's waist,

"Come on, stud. Let's get to work before Batman gets jealous."

Batman ignored the comment and continued sifting through the research…

**Meanwhile… **

The battle with Professor Zoom was more difficult than Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, and Flash had first thought. Jay Garrick tried to speed up to the mad speedster, but Professor Zoom was always one step ahead. Zoom ran near Hawkgirl and tried to vibrate some of her surroundings. He used the Speed Force and caused part of the street she as flying over to explode. The mace-wielding warrior shielded her eyes as she ascended, some pieces of asphalt pelting her body. Thought the pieces were small, the force of the explosion knocked her back a little. She somersaulted in the air and regained control of her flying pattern quickly.

John Stewart lashed out with his emerald ring, attempting to create constructs that would slow the villainous professor down. Zoom looked up and said out loud,

"I wonder what would happen if I vibrated a Lantern construct."

He placed his hand on the construct and began an attempted vibration. John tried to deactivate the construct, but it was too late. The construct exploded suddenly, and sent the ring user flying into a building. The former soldier crashed through a window and landed on the floor, groaning in pain. He stood up uneasily, but glass shards had showered his body and, as he attempted to stand, cut his hand on one of them.

Jay Garrick said,

"What have you done with Barry?"  
>Professor Zoom shrugged,<p>

"Well, I might as well tell you, seeing as you would soon be joining them."

He cleared his throat dramatically and began,

"I remember the first Crisis, and when Barry Allen died, he tapped into the Speed Force more so than he ever had done before. He did not die in the traditional sense, but became bonded with the Speed Force and an essence of motion and speed. Naturally, as a scientist interested in speed, I began researching a way to tap into that potential and found out that there are two Speed Forces; positive and negative. Barry Allen tapped into the Positive Speed Force in the Anti-matter Universe, and so did Wally West. So, I began discovering that the Negative Speed Force and Positive Speed Force are a lot like positive and negative charges of electricity; when the two different charges combine, an unbelievable amount of energy is produced."

Jay looked at the deranged scientist and shook his head,

"You maniac! Are you out of your mind?"

Professor Zoom laughed,

"Oh, come on. I'm sure that, as a fellow scientist, you would have wanted to study new aspects of the Speed Force! Of course, I had to infuse Barry with a lot of Negative Speed Force to come back to this world, but I guess I overdid it!"  
>Jay clenched his fist and slammed a hard hook into Professor Zoom. The deranged professor spun around and was knocked out. Hawkgirl landed and grinned,<p>

"Nice shot."

The elder speedster shook his head,

"Bastard deserved it."

He looked around,

"Where's Green Lantern?"

John hovered to them, trying not to wince in pain,

"I'm here. We'll get Zoom locked up as soon as we can."

**One week later, in the Watchtower… **

Every League scientist had combed through Professor Zoom's research in an attempt to find a way to restore Barry Allen back to normal as the Flash. Atom, Mr. Terrific, Blue Beetle, Skeets, Jay Garrick, and even Wonder Man were getting in on the act. Each of the scientists had come up with a different theory as to how to restore Barry, and there was a varying degree of opinion on how it would work.

Skeets said,

"Could we produce an artificial Speed Force for him to drain off of?"

Jay shook his head,

"We would need to build a device from scratch in order for that to work, something that could generate massive amounts of force."

Wonder Man nodded,

"I think I might now what it is; Jay, you said that Zoom said that Barry tapped into a positive Speed Force and then got flooded with a negative Speed Force, right? Well, what if we reversed that process?"

Atom said,

"Have Barry absorb negative Speed Force before absorbing Positive? Do you think it could work?"

Mr. Terrific nodded,

"It's possible, but we would need to create negative Speed Force, and I don't know how to do that."

Skeets said,

"I believe I have a way of creating the speeds necessary for what we want to do to help Barry Allen."

Activating a holographic projection screen, the robot from the future showed the heroes the device that could help their friend.

Blue Beetle blinked,

"It looks like a treadmill."

Skeets said,

"As a basic model, it is. We build a treadmill that is capable of creating speeds comparable to that of the Flash and figure a way to tap into the Speed Force to restore Barry Allen from the Black Flash, to the Flash."

Mr. Terrific nodded,

"It makes sense, but it is risky. It could take months to build it and we would need to properly test it."

Atom shrugged,

"It's better than nothing."

Blue Beetle nodded,

"He's right. We'll get started on this right away."

Next Chapter:

Switching gears now, a coup in Kasnia is led by one of Captain America's most nefarious foes, the Red Skull. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	16. Chapter 16

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Hecate, and Leon/Crisis. _

Chapter 16: The Past Catches Up 

In the wake of Princess Audrey's demise at the hands of Hecate, a power mad woman, the nation of Kasnia had been launched into turmoil. When the next in line to the throne attempted to ascend, the governing legislative body, as well as several military factions, attempted to seize power away from the monarchy, and embroiled the nation of Kasnia into a civil war. Many other countries within the region of Europe attempted to introduce stability and order, but it was to no avail. Eventually, after months of fighting and blood shed, a new dictator arose in the nation of Kasnia, one Colonel Rajak.

The colonel had been exiled out of his home country of Bialya, a small country in the Middle East. However, one of the attacks came at his mansion in the area, of which several Kasnian guards were killed. Realizing the potential this could have for him, he summarily killed the other guards, took a uniform off of one of them, and managed to infiltrate the strong hold.

However, no one knew, not even the Colonel, that another sinister force would be moving in to take over; the Red Skull. He had met the exiled colonel by sheer accident, and merely persuaded the Middle Eastern colonel to work together. The Red Skull needed a way to establish himself in the world and re-establish his agenda; a complete Nazi empire. Colonel Rajak agreed, under the condition that he would be put in power, and, once that happened, the Red Skull could do whatever he wanted.

Of course, the Red Skull had to keep his Nazi agenda a secret, at least, for the moment. Right now, the two power-mad dictators were now teaming up.

Currently, the Red Skull and Colonel Rajak were meeting one mile outside the city where the palace was located. Several generals had formed a military junta in order to maintain their power and order. Of course, the generals could not trust each other and would gladly do away with each other if they could do so. However, they also needed each other to destroy the opposition, so, at least for a while; they would have to work together.

Red Skull looked at the colonel,

"Now, colonel. This is the plan."

The Nazi super-villain opened a bag containing a metallic cylinder with a biohazard symbol on the side of it. Rajak asked,

"What is that?"

The Red Skull said,

"That, my dear colonel, is a special grade of nerve gas I was having my organization create before they were destroyed. I always kept one in safe storage, just in case."

Rajak knew what the gas was for; they were going to use the gas in the palace and eliminate all of their competitors for power all at once. Rajak smirked; his country had tried in the past to produce weapons of mass destruction, but, seeing as how the Red Skull had one on him and could develop more, the colonel thought it would be best to let this partnership continue for as long as he needed the Red Skull.

The two madmen then went down into the sewer system under the city and hurried their way to the palace. The stench was extremely aromatic and unpleasant, but the thought of running a country and having no opposition fueled the drive these two had. They got to within one block of the palace when they saw several guards stationed up ahead. The two stayed in the darkness, Rajak drawing his pistol,

"What do we do now, Red Skull?"

The Red Skull replied in his German accent,

"Easily managed, Herr Rajak. Observe."

The enhanced Nazi soldier set the black bag containing the nerve gas down and safely tucked it away. He then drew out two pistols and began walking slowly and calmly to the gathering of troops. Rajak could only watch as to what the Red Skull was up to. He shook his head,

"He's crazy."

One of the soldiers, who was lighting a cigarette, noticed the red-masked man walking towards them. He shouted,

"Halt!"  
>The Red Skull smiled, acting very casually,<p>

"Hey, boys! How are things on the home front, as the Americans would say?"

Taking advantage of the befuddled expression of several troops, Red Skull opened fire, killing them. As others tried to mount an offense, the Nazi villain cut them down without blinking, and at almost inhuman speeds.  
>Rajak was stunned; he had never seen anyone move that fast and hit so accurately before. He swallowed nervously, wondering how he was going to be able kill his partner once this partnership dissolved. The Red Skull walked back and, putting his still smoking guns away, picked up the bag and said,<p>

"Shall we continue, herr colonel?"

Rajak nodded silently, but still kept his pistol drawn.

A few minutes later, the two had reached the central air conditioning of the facility. Killing the guards quietly, the Red Skull opened the vent and said,

"I trust you to vatch my back as I do this, ja?"

Rajak nodded and took a position to cover the Red Skull.

The Red Skull began to work, carefully placing the canister in the air vent and setting the timer to have the gas vent throughout the palace. He worked in a particular fashion; he was meticulous and left no detail to chance. This had to work.

After what seemed like forever, but in actuality only a few minutes, the device was ready. The Red Skull turned back to Rajak,

"If I vere you, Herr Colonel, I would leave as vell."

The two dictators ran out of the sewer system and managed to hide out in the town just as the gas began to flood the vents.

Screams could be heard inside as guards and servants dropped like flies, succumbing to the gas' effect. First, it was coughing and bleeding in the eyes; and, after about a minute of inhalation, total and sudden shut down of the central nervous system and the brain. It was a rather potent weapon and, truthfully, horrifyingly effective.

Within a few minutes, the gas had dissipated, killing everyone in the palace. People were running in the streets, and the palace guards that were stationed outside were running in massive confusion.

Red Skull and Colonel Rajak slipped inside the palace, and the two marveled at the destruction. Rajak smiled,

"You did it."

Red Skull smirked,

"Of course I vould, colonel. Now, to business. I know about my nemesis Captain America is here, and I vant him eliminated."

Rajak snarled; he was deeply devoted against the American government and the people,

"I agree. How do you propose we do that?"  
>Red Skull shook his head,<p>

"Easily taken care of. You be the face of this nation, and give me the scientists I need to help create a super-powered team to not only eliminate the Captain America, but also the Justice League as vell."

Rajak could not pass up an opportunity like this,

"Sir, you have a deal."

The two shook hands and one could not help but wonder what sort of malicious machinations the Red Skull has planned…

Next Chapter:

Green Arrow and Black Canary are out on the town when the serial killer Onomatopoeia strikes at them. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	17. Chapter 17

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana and Leon/Crisis. _

Chapter 17: The Return of a Killer 

Green Arrow and Black Canary were standing on a roof top in Star City. The couple was trying to patch things up and Dinah felt a good patrol around Star City with Ollie and Connor Hawke would be the thing that would help patch up the relationship between the martial artist and her billionaire boyfriend.

Connor Hawke, the purple clad hero Hawkeye, looked down at a building,

"It's quiet. Too quiet."

He turned and saw Ollie and Dinah making out on the roof. It was night time, and the moon was out. The lights in many office buildings were going dark, but the street lights were on. Connor looked at the couple and raised an eyebrow,

"You know we're on patrol, right?"

Ollie looked over, stopping the kiss,

"You know, you don't have to be so uptight like Bats is, Hawkeye. Besides, you know you look ridiculous in that costume."

Connor shrugged,

"I like the costume, to be honest. It's kind of grown on me."

Ollie said flatly,

"Connor, you have a big 'H' stamped on you forehead. And, you're dressed in purple."

The son of the Emerald Archer looked back,

"At least I don't wear a hat to hide my bald spot."

Black Canary got in the middle of them,

"Knock it off, you two. I swear, you're worse than kids."

Both archers backed off, knowing full well that incurring the wrath of Black Canary severely shortened your life expectancy.

Connor looked back out again, but, out of the corner of his eyes, saw Ollie and Dinah going back to making out. He smirked and said,

"So, Ollie; when are you going to marry Dinah?"

Ollie glared up,

"Why you-!"  
>Canary said,<p>

"He's right, you know. When are you going to marry me?"

The billionaire playboy groaned in his head and tried to find an excuse,

"Lady Bird, you know I love you."

Dinah said,

"Ollie, you've had two kids with two different women. You're out of control and I want marriage. And kids."

Connor began humming a childish song, and Ollie pointed a finger at his son,

"You're ass is toast when I get out of this."

Hawkeye began chuckling as Canary continued to chew Ollie out. Then, for a brief moment, something flashed. Connor tried to see what it was, but could barely make out any detail. He said,

"I see something."

He fired a grappling arrow and slid down the cable. Ollie shook his head,

"Spoilsport."

The two followed the young archer as he landed on the street. Into an alleyway Hawkeye went. His meta-human ability was super-sight, and, combined with his martial arts training, navigated the darkness with relative ease. He said,

"There's definitely something in here."

Ollie looked around, shining a light,

"I don't see anything."

Black Canary shook her head,

"No, Arrow. Something is in here."

The next voice they heard was none of their own,

"Whack."

Onomatopoeia, carrying an axe, tried to cleave Connor in half. At the last second, Hawkeye rolled out of the way, the axe clanging hard against a pipe. The mysterious assassin dropped the axe just as Canary unleashed a sonic scream at him. Onomatopoeia pulled out a gun and tried to fire, but Ollie shouted,

"Oh, no you don't!"  
>He fired an arrow, intending to hit the assassin's arm and make him drop the weapon. However, as the arrow landed into Onomatopoeia, the assassin simply looked at the arrow sticking in his shoulder and then back up at Green Arrow, seemingly unaffected by the attack. He then began using that arm and aimed his gun at him, saying,<p>

"Bang!"  
>Gunfire cut through the thin, night air. Ollie and Dinah ran for cover. Once behind some heavy bags, Ollie said,<p>

"That's impossible! He shouldn't be using that arm!"  
>Canary shot back,<p>

"Oh, yeah! It seems to me he's doing just that!"  
>Connor Hawke opened up with more arrows, hitting the shoulders and knees. It still did not stop Onomatopoeia, as the arrows, though perforating the mysterious assassin, were not slowing him down in the slightest. Hawkeye shook his head,<p>

"What the hell?"

Onomatopoeia turned and aimed his gun at Connor. That was when Canary unleashed her Canary Cry and made a direct hit to the mysterious assassin. Onomatopoeia got thrown into a crate. Looking up, he fired his gun at Canary,

"Bang."

The shot rang out and Canary's body whipped around, a shocked look on her face as she fell into Ollie's arms. She was shot in the head, but, as Ollie checked for a pulse, he was relieved she was still alive. It was weak, but he had to get her out of there.

Hawkeye tackled Onomatopoeia and shouted,

"Dad, get Dinah out of here! I'll take care of this!"

Ollie nodded,

"Right."

He picked her up and left. Hopefully, he can get beamed aboard the Watchtower and get Dinah treated before it was too late.

Onomatopoeia, the arrows still sticking out of his body, got up. He then pulled out a device and said,

"Boom."

**Outside… **

Green Arrow had just called in the Justice League when he heard the sudden explosion. He shielded Canary's body and, as he looked, he saw flames engulf the building. Ollie shouted,

"CONNOR!"  
>For a moment, nothing but flames could be seen. Even as several members of the Justice League came, Ollie wanted to go back in and find his son. Vixen held him back,<p>

"Ollie, you can't go back in there!"

Green Arrow pushed her aside,

"He's my son and I'm going after him!"

As he was about to go in, he saw a figure making his way through the flames. It was Connor, and he was holding his shoulder. Connor barely made it through the flames as he collapsed into Ollie's arms, covered in soot and ash.

Next Chapter:

The Howling Commandos get wind of some vital information that may put the world in jeopardy. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	18. Chapter 18

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Lance/Diablos, and Leon/Crisis. _

Chapter 18: Moments like These 

Persiana, the white-haired feline acrobat, lay naked in her bed, next to the love of her life Crisis. It had been an exhaustive couple of weeks after the incident in North Africa, but the feline heroine did not want to dwell on that. She wanted to dwell on what was happening right now.

A few days ago, Farrah had been waking up, throwing up. At first, she thought it was a stomach bug, but, as she performed tests on herself, she realized what it was.

She was pregnant.

Farrah was staring up at the ceiling, thinking to herself,

_Are the children Leon's? What if they're not? Will he see me as a slut if they're not his? _

She shook her head,

_No, Leon doesn't see me like a slut. He loves me. He wasn't freaked out about my change in appearance, and didn't show he was jealous when I was with Lance. Why am I worrying about this? _

Farrah continued to stare at the ceiling, her feline eyes glowing in the dark. She looked over and saw Leon's sleeping form. The cat-woman shook her head,

_He's been through so much, and he's done so much too. I had no idea. _

She snarled under her breath and got out of bed. Farrah slipped on her costume as Leon stirred. He felt a sudden coolness and opened his eyes slightly,

"Farrah?"

Persiana whispered,

"Right here, Leon."

Leon sat up, asking,

"Is something wrong?"

The white-haired woman shook her head,

"No, nothing's wrong. I just need to take a walk, that's all. You go back to sleep."

She crept over and kissed him,

"I promise I won't be long."

His scent was intoxicating and, as the two kissed, Farrah licked her lips, tasting her lover. The flavor was perfect and Persiana smiled,

"You're tempting me."

Crisis chuckled,

"You've been a bad influence on me."

Farrah laughed,

"I bet."

Her laughter then subsided as she knelt on the bed,

"Leon, could I talk to you about something?"

The red-eyed powerhouse nodded,

"Of course."

He took her hand and kissed it. Farrah would have undressed at that point, but she shook her head,

"Leon, I have something to tell you."

She took a breath in and said,

"I'm pregnant."

Leon blinked for a few moments and then smiled,

"Farrah, that's great!"  
>He wanted to hug her, and Farrah did so, but the lioness was a little worried. She said,<p>

"Leon, I don't know if the baby is yours or not."  
>Leon pulled away and blinked,<p>

"What do you mean?"

Farrah said nervously,

"Well, after we defeated Smithy, Geno said that our wishes would come true. And, I don't know what my wish was; to be able to turn into a human at will, or the fact that I wanted children."

She shook her head,

"Leon, I'm scared. What if I end up having Lance's child instead of yours? What would I tell them about my child's biological father?"

Leon could see the situation she was in and shook his head,

"I don't know what to say. All I can say is that we shouldn't worry about it until you give birth. Regardless of who the child's biological father is, the child will have you, her mother."

Farrah nodded,

"Yeah, but what if I end up like my mother? You saw how she is and…"

Leon held her close,

"I promise I won't let that happen."  
>Farrah said,<p>

"You promise?"  
>The red-eyed precog nodded,<p>

"Of course."

Just then, Fury buzzed,

"_Crisis, Persiana; report to the War Room. We have a situation." _

Crisis started to get up,

"Duty calls."

Persiana growled,

"Yeah, it does."

She slinked off and said,

"I need to talk to Fury. I'll see you-."

She then saw Crisis already fully dressed in his costume. Farrah blinked,

"I guess I'll see you now."

**A few minutes later, in the meeting room…**

Fury, along with the other Howling Commandos, were watching a recent broadcast in Kasnia. Colonel Rajak was speaking,

"…And, I promise the people of Kasnia that they will no longer be under the oppressive rule of Western Civilization and the American-backed European countries! Today is a new and glorious day for the people of Kasnia, as we shall rise up against the Western world and show that their ways only lead to corruption and death…"

Deadpool blinked in awe,

"Wow. That guy really has to do some voice-over work. Seriously, did you hear him talk?"

Bast hissed,

"Yes, we did. He disgusts me."  
>Deadpool continued,<p>

"The posture, the eloquence of his voice, the military bearing…"

He mocked,

"What a tool!"  
>Crisis shook his head,<p>

"I take it this is Kasnia's new ruler after the military take over."

Fury nodded,

"Yeah, guy's name is Ehad Rajak, former dictator of Bialya. Oddly enough, he was exiled out of there by his own people and into Kasnia in a presidential palace."

A map was brought up on the table of both countries' locations. The one-eyed super spy continued,

"We still have no idea on how he got out of the palace, but there was an attack against it, so we're surmising he escaped and managed to kill the ruling military junta."

Punisher said,

"So, he's now in charge of the country."

Troia growled,

"I have heard stories of this man. He is a monster."

Crisis nodded,

"I agree, but if we go in there now, we'll just be exposing ourselves as terrorists. We need to do a recon mission and find out if this guy is really a threat to Europe and to America as he says he is."

Arsenal asked,

"But, what about Daken?"

Fury looked to Leon,

"What about it, kid?"

Leon shook his head,

"I don't know what it may mean, but I got a flare up about something to do with a biohazard material. I have no idea what it could mean though."

Fury nodded,

"All right. Here's the plan. Troia, you, Fire, Arsenal, and the Punisher are going into Kasnia and attempt to find out all about our friend Colonel Rajak. Find out any information you can and get out of there quick."

He looked at them,

"This is a stealth and information gathering mission. Don't kill anybody unless you have to, and don't draw attention to yourselves. But, most importantly…don't get caught."

Deadpool raised his hand,

"Oh, oh, oh, oh Mister Fury! Mister Fury! Can I come too? Can I? Can I?"

Leon held the bridge of his nose,

"Wade, please don't do that. It's annoying."

Deadpool shrugged,

"Hey, I'm Deadpool. Annoying is my middle name."

He then blinked,

"Wow; that would be weird. Wade 'Annoying' Wilson. Hey, maybe I can could get that on my drivers' license!"

The other members of the Howling Commandos groaned.

Next Chapter:

Introducing the Metal Men! Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	19. Chapter 19

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana and Leon/Crisis. _

Chapter 19: Heavy Metal 

Doctor Magnus looked at the test field where his androids were now preparing for another exercise. The robotics expert marveled at his Metal Men and said,

"All right, Metal Men. The drill you will be conducting today will be a rescue mission."

The assembled androids took to the line. Gold, Tin, Lead, Iron, Mercury, and Platinum were all bracing themselves for the mission. Gold was already running a protocol of how a simple rescue operation would work and acknowledging any factors that could help or hinder the rescue. He said,

"Iron, Lead; take the lead and hold the enemy off. Mercury and Tin, cover our rear. Platinum and I will attempt to rescue the hostages."

The siren began to sound, signaling the beginning of the training mission. The simulation began.

Though this was only a training exercise, the soldiers participating in it were using live ammunition, in an attempt to create as real a situation as could be imagined. The Metal Men knew this and were specifically ordered by Doctor Magnus not to kill or sadistically torture any of them, only to incapacitate them. Iron and Lead took front positions, creating hammer heads and boxing gloves as they reshaped their hands and arms. A few swift hits from the larger Iron was enough to incapacitate several soldiers, as Lead seemingly threw his weight around, barreling into some walls as soldiers scrambled out of the way.

While the heavy hitters of the Metal Men were fighting up front, Gold, Platinum, Tin, and Mercury were making their way further into the mock building being used for the simulation. Gold said,

"Mercury, go into the air vents. See if you can locate the hostages."

The red-colored android saluted,

"Will do, Gold!"

He then reduced his form into semi-liquid and slipped into the vent. Tin looked around and said,

"The floor has several vacant rooms, but there are also soldiers in some of these rooms as well. They have been alerted to the fighting outside and are heading this way."

Gold directed,

"Take cover in one of the rooms."

As the three androids took cover inside, they could hear several soldiers making their way past them and down the stairs to the fighting outside. Gold waited until he could no longer detect any soldiers coming his way. The three malleable androids exited and continued on their mission objective.

Mercury radioed in,

"Gold, I found the hostages. There are three hostiles with them as well."

The shining Metal Men member nodded,

"Roger that, Mercury. Do not move until we have arrived at your location."

Doctor Magnus was watching the Metal Men perform and noted their times. This was going better than he thought, though Lead and Iron were starting to take serious damage and their energy reserves would not last long. However, to complete the authenticity of the simulation, he could not call out what was going on until the simulation was complete.

Doc Magnus was impressed with the mechanics of the Metal Men, but he was preoccupied with that alien metal he recovered. He knew it was not kryptonite, but it was an odd metal with seemingly no known origin. The veridium, as he called it, was a complete mystery to him. He smoked his pipe again, attempting to focus his mind back onto the training program. It infuriated him as a scientist that he could not solve this mystery, but, that was what being a scientist was all about; finding answers to the unanswerable.

A siren went off, signaling the end of the simulation. He looked up, his thoughts being recollected. The scientist checked the time and nodded approvingly,

"Very impressive, though Iron and Lead took a lot of damage before you could back them up as well, Gold."

Gold nodded,

"I realize that, but they were best suited to handle the external threat while the four of us were able to handle the internal one."

Tin spoke up,

"With all do respect, Doc, I think that those two could handle anything that could be thrown at them. They are capable of withstanding the most punishment out of all of us here."

Doc Magnus replied,

"While I have no doubt in their capabilities, you also need to learn that you are as mortal as humans. You may be androids, but you are also capable of dying, and once that realization is made known to you, then you shall know what it means to be human."

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, tired,

"That will be all for today. Return to your beds for repairs and recharging of your energy cells."

The Metal Men departed, but Platinum got worried,

"Do you think Doc's mad with us?"

Tin shrugged,

"Not really. He has been working hard to identify that metal he has. No one here knows what it is."

Lead shook his head, yawning,

"I'm tired. I just want to sleep."

Iron stayed silent the whole way over to their beds.

Doc Magnus sat at the control booth for a moment, seemingly lost in space. He was liking this less and less. He knew he was running these tests for General Lane so he could use the Metal Men to go after the Howling Commandos. Or, whom the four-star general thought were the Howling Commandos. Doc Magnus had heard of the group, and, though he could not prove it, the general was not going to give up on his seemingly paranoid belief that the Howling Commandos were a threat to American security. Doc Magnus may not have agreed with their methods, but, from what he hard about them, they did not seem interested in harming American security. Quite the opposite, really; it seemed as if they were attempting to strengthen it.

He sighed and went back to his room on the base. As he entered and turned the lights on, he was a bit surprised Platinum was in the room. She giggled as she hid under the covers,

"Hi, Doc."

Doc Magnus shook his head,

"Platinum, what are you doing here?"

The platinum-plated android said,

"I want to keep you company. You're under a lot of stress."

Magnus rolled his eyes; he was regretting making a female robot. Platinum opened the covers, seductively remarking,

"I can keep you warm if you want me to."

Doc shook his head,

"No, thank you. You've been through a rigorous training exercise and I want you to get some rest now."

Platinum sulked like a child that got yelled at and slowly walked out of the room. The door closed and Doctor William Magnus laid down on the bed, shaking his head. A quick nap might be able to clear his head…

Next Chapter:

While preparing for her battle with the Justice League, Fatality is confronted by Star Sapphire. Let the cat-fighting begin!


	20. Chapter 20

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana and Leon/Crisis. _

Chapter 20: Love and Fear 

Fatality sat quietly on a tree stump, in deep meditation. The cosmic martial artist was preparing herself for the coming battle with a member of the Green Lantern Corps she had hated for so long.

John Stewart.

Though she hated the Corps in general, she hated John Stewart even more so. Since the destruction of her home planet of Xanshi, the dark-skinned warrior was hell-bent on making every member of the Green Lantern Corps pay, especially John Stewart. The former royal pushed herself further and further into her training, becoming a truly living weapon, skilled not only in martial arts, but also in the use of her energy spear. There were green notches on it, each one representing a Green Lantern she had slain in combat.

Sinestro was impressed with the way she handled herself, and her skill as a warrior. The purple-skinned leader of the Sinestro Corps was so impressed, he bestowed a ring to Fatality, and Fatality readily accepted it.

Fatality opened her eyes and looked at the yellow ring on her fingers. Though she was honored to have been a part of the fear-inducing Sinestro Corps, Fatality was also conflicted. All she wanted was revenge against the Green Lantern Corps, not to paralyze innocence with fear. It went against her, the ways of a warrior. In fact, the only reason she even agreed to join the Legion of Doom was to fight John Stewart. She had hidden that away from Grodd that she would leave once her business would be complete.

She stood up from meditating and began to reach for her spear. Fatality was only inches away from it when she stiffened, feeling a presence near by. She turned around,

"Show yourself."

Seemingly, nothing happened at first. Then, a bright violet light began appearing above Fatality and, as the martial artist took a defensive stance, she saw who was behind the violet light burst.

A woman dressed in a dark pink costume with a tiara and white gloves hovered to the ground. Her name is Carol Ferris, a member of the Star Sapphire Corps.

Fatality glared,

"You are one of the Star Sapphires, aren't you?"

Carol nodded,

"Yes, I am. And I have come to help you find love, Yrra Cynril of Xanshi."

Fatality said,

"I am Fatality now, and I have no desire to find anything except vengeance against the Green Lantern Corps, and the Earth man John Stewart."

The Star Sapphire shook her head,

"You can't blame one man for the death of an entire planet, Yrra. He was doing his best."

Fatality screamed,

"He maliciously destroyed them all! My family and my throne are no longer there!"  
>She lashed out with her energy spear, but Carol created a shield of violet light, and the energy blast was neutralized. Fatality growled in frustration and shouted,<p>

"You have no right to do this! John Stewart must die!"  
>Carol groaned quietly,<p>

"This is not going to be as easy as I thought."

The Star Sapphire member took a defensive stance and watched as Fatality made a move to attack.

Fatality, her rage driving her, took her spear and lunged at the cosmic warrior. Carol rolled out of the way and put up a wall of violet light, shielding herself from the spear. Fatality swung again, her strength being fueled by her anger towards the cosmic warrior.

Star Sapphire fired a blast of energy from her violet ring, hitting Fatality. The blast took down the warrior, but Fatality was struggling to get up. She did so uneasily, but the Star Sapphire member shook her head,

"I have no desire to hurt you, Fatality. But, you are not making this easy for me."

Fatality hefted her spear and began to try and launch another offensive, but Carol launched another attack. Fatality dodged it, and then landed a blow through the shield, shattering it. The Star Sapphire was sent flying back, but managed to float at the last second, stopping herself. She launched a violet light burst, incapacitating the cosmic martial artist. Blinded, the former Xanshi royal tried to put up a defense, but was knocked out by Carol. Then, encased in violet light, Ferris took the unconscious Fatality to space, to the Zamarons home world.

**Later… **

Queen Aga'po, the ruling monarch of the Zamaron home world and leader of the Star Sapphires, was a thin, blue skinned alien woman with flowing violet robes and shimmering, gold-like jewelry. She was seated near the source of the Star Sapphire's power; the power of the violet crystal of love.

The Zamarons are distant cousins to the Guardians of the Universe, and their ancestors split off from the Guardians thousands of years ago because of the Guardians' seemingly lack of emotions. It was this rebellious splinter group that embraced emotions and generated a power source that rivals that of the Green Lantern Battery; the Violet Crystal of Love.

Several other Zamaron warriors, all bearing the Star Sapphire rings, were making their way to the queen, accompanied by Carol and the captured Fatality. The queen asked,

"Is it her?"

Carol nodded and bowed,

"Yes, Your Majesty. I have brought Yrra Cynril of Xanshi here."

The monarch nodded,

"Excellent. Prepare her for rehabilitation."

Several other Star Sapphire Corps members removed the yellow ring and energy spear and brought the unconscious Fatality to a special chamber. In it, there were numerous violet crystals, not as grand as the main one, but close enough to the power source. If one were to notice, there were beings within the crystals as well, all females of various alien species. Fatality was placed in the chamber and, as the crystal chamber began to close, she regained consciousness. She struggled to get out, but the crystal had completely encased her and she looked on with almost sheer horror at what could be happening to her.

Queen Aga'po nodded,

"Excellent. We will soon have another member added to our ranks."

She then said,

"Dispose of the yellow ring and the spear. I do not wish for any trace of the old Fatality to exist."

However, as her subjects were to do as they were told, the yellow ring had mysteriously disappeared. Little did they know that the ring was heading back to Earth at light speed, to find someone worthy enough for its power…

Next Chapter:

The Howling Commandos infiltrate Kasnia in an attempt to find out what Colonel Rajak is up to, but encounter more than they can handle. Stay tuned, fellow readers.


	21. Chapter 21

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Bast, and Leon/Crisis. _

Chapter 21: Infiltration 

Troia, Arsenal, Punisher, and Fire managed to infiltrate Kasnia through one of the country's borders. All four of them were dressed in black body suits hiding their costumes underneath it. They were also wearing black masks to conceal their faces as they moved through the misty night air. Also, the four members were in communication with the Howling Commandos' base, with Nick Fury and Persiana directing the operation.

Deadpool stared up at the ceiling,

"I'm bored. Bored, bored, bored, bored bored. When am I going to see action?"  
>Fury, not even looking in his direction, said,<p>

"Wade, if this turns bad, you might see action sooner than even you want."

The Merc-with-a-mouth rolled his eyes,

"Oh, chill out, Nicky! The author of this shin-dig isn't going to do anything that wouldn't catch me off guard. I'm Deadpool!"  
>Persiana rolled her eyes and patted her stomach,<p>

"And I thought I was nuts."

Fury looked at the monitor,

"Ok, Troia. You're approaching a small town just outside the capital city. Try and see if you can blend in with the people before heading into the city."  
>The younger Amazon princess nodded,<p>

"Understood."

Fury said,

"Maintain radio silence until you get to the city. Fury out."

He disconnected the com-link.

Bast folded her arms, glaring at the former head of SHIELD,

"I must admit, Colonel; I find myself conflicted. While skulking around in the shadows is appealing to cats, I also feel we are like a bunch of common thieves."  
>Fury looked over to the goddess of felines,<p>

"It's the only way we're going to be able to get any info on what Rajak is up to. Also, I seem to recall a clan of ninjas that you started."

The goddess sniffed,

"That's different. That was after my daughter was grown up and she and the others started that."

Farrah looked around,

"Have you seen Leon around?"  
>The red-eyed swordsman entered at that moment,<p>

"I'm right here. What's going on?"

The white-haired feline grinned,

"Hey, lover."

Crisis said,

"So, how's it going with the operation?"

Fury answered,

"They just got into town. I told them to maintain radio silence until they got into the palace. I just hope it works."  
><strong>Meanwhile…<strong>

Troia and her team had reached the small hamlet just outside the capital city. If one were to look at this Kasnia, one would never expect to be anything more than a small farming village. Animals rested silently as the four individuals crept along the alleyways. The whole town was dark, with many of the residents still asleep. However, one light was open, and there was some ruckus laughter coming from it. From the several military jeeps parked outside, it was obvious that it was a soldier patrol and it was the end of their shift.

Roy peered through one of the windows. He was careful to stay out of sight and saw through the slightly tarnished window there were about eight to ten soldiers, all of which had been drinking. One of them appeared to be more sober than the others and Roy believed him to be an officer. The archer skulked back to Donna and said,

"Most of 'em are drunk, but there's one in there that's looks like an officer."

The soldiers were now cursing and shouting in the native language at the bartender, demanding more drinks. Donna growled, recognizing that drunken tone,

"We need to slip past them and keep moving."

Castle shook his head,

"If there's an officer with them, then we need to know why."

Just then, the four of them saw the bartender stepping outside. Bea smirked,

"Now's our chance."

As the bartender began a quick smoke, a hand covered his mouth. Donna whispered in the native language,  
>"It is all right. We do not wish to hurt you."<p>

Roy blinked,

"Wait, how do you know the language?"

Troia shrugged,

"No idea. I just seemed to understand it when I first heard it."

The bartender blinked and asked,

"Are you Americans?"

Donna shook her head,

"Not exactly. We need to know why there is an officer in the bar."

The bartender explained,

"Only officers are allowed outside the city. Ever since this Colonel Rajak appeared several weeks ago, he had his grip tighten. No one has gotten in or out."

One of the drunken soldiers shouted,

"Hey, barkeep! Where's more liquor?"

An idea hatched in Roy's mind,

"I have a plan."

Five minutes later, and dressed as the bartender's daughter, Donna walked in, all smiles with the bartender. The drunken soldiers were cat-calling, and even the officer had to spit out his drink as he marveled at the beauty that was in front of him,

"Hello, my dear."

He kissed her hand rather gentleman like, while several of the more inebriated soldiers attempted to woo her. The officer barked,

"You idiots have no idea how to treat a beautiful woman! Go visit one of the brothels!"

He then turned to Donna,

"Perhaps a change of scenery is an order. I have a house inside the city I could simply give you a pass."

Donna chuckled,

"Well, why should I refuse from a handsome gentleman like you?"

Of course, all this flirting was making the young Amazon sick to her stomach. The officer nodded,

"Of course. Right this way."

The bartender growled, as if to play along that he did not approve, but there was little he could do to stop it. He watched as Donna and the officer left the bar. Roy watched as the two left and said,

"Let's do this."

He and the Punisher walked in with silent weapons and blasted the other drunken soldiers way. The bartender took cover and watched as the bullets, while making very little sounds from their guns, did hit glasses and the wooden tables. The soldiers, too drunk to fight back, laid in a bloody waste. Castle then began opening the basement to the bar and shoved all the bodies as Roy and Bea began cleaning up the mess.

Roy grumbled,

"I don't like leaving Troia behind like that."

Fire nodded,

"I agree. Which is why we have to do this quickly and get to her."

With that, after the clean up was done, they all left.

Bea, glowing in her green flaming aura, flew across the night sky as Punisher and Arsenal commandeered a jeep and drove fast through the night.

Donna and the officer had just reached the checkpoint when Arsenal, Fire, and Punisher were all watching. It looked like Troia was going to pull it off.

Suddenly, several helicopters began flying over head and spotlights began being shone all around them. All of them shielded their eyes as best they could, but Colonel Rajak's voice cut through the air,

"You should not have made that pit stop, as you Americans say."

Punisher wanted to go for his gun, but a chorus of gun clicks prevented him from doing so.

As soon as the four of them were taken into custody, the power-mad colonel walked to each one of them, all of their faces exposed. He nodded,

"So, you Americans think you could invade my country and oppress my people with your own ways."

Donna hissed,

"Like you haven't done that already? We've heard of you, Rajak."

A voice chuckled at that,

"Nice to see you too, princess."

Donna instantly recognized that voice,

"You!"  
>Daken, dressed in his brown and tan Wolverine costume, grinned,<p>

"So, how about that date?"

Next Chapter:

The Legion of Doom kicks of their bid for control of Gorilla City and war with the League. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	22. Chapter 22

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Marvel or DC. I own Farrah/Persiana and Leon/Crisis. _

Chapter 22: Going Ape Part 1 

**Aboard the Watchtower… **

Captain America burst into the cafeteria on the Watchtower. The all-American Avenger was frantically looking for a place to hide as he was covered in lipstick kisses and part of his uniform had been torn off. For months, he had been at the mercy of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. Wonder Woman looked at Steve,

"Are you all right?"  
>The super soldier glared, frantically shouting,<p>

"DO I LOOK ALL RIGHT TO YOU? YOUR MOTHER IS NUTS!"

He then heard the blonde queen's voice call out,

"Come back, Adonis! I know you are here somewhere, and I shall find you!"  
>Steve frantically looked around and ducked underneath the table.<p>

The Queen walked in, shaking her head,

"Now where is he?"

Diana blinked,

"Mother, could I speak to you for a moment?"

Hippolyta sat the table, placing her elbows on the table and her hands on her face like a five year old,

"I miss him."

The princess sighed,

"Mother, I realize you may not have been in the company of man for a while, but have you forgotten what Heracles did to you?"  
>Hippolyta said,<p>

"Steve is different. He's smart, strong, a capable warrior…"

She had a dreamlike stare as she continued,

"And he is hot in bed."

Diana watched a little concerned as her mother began salivating, thinking of all the times Hippolyta had been seeing Cap. Not that Diana had anything against it; she thought Cap was a great man and a capable fighter, but the way her mother was drooling after him, it was like Hippolyta had totally forgotten what had happened to her when Heracles and his men appeared on the island all those years ago.

Of course, Captain America was a revered legend, and even the gods had shown him great respect. At least according to Thor.

There was also talk around Watchtower that it had become increasingly calm for the last few months. Other than the serial killer Onomatopoeia and the seemingly non-existence of the Howling Commandos, it was fairly quiet. Batman was busy tracking down the serial killer. Even though there was a fire, he figured that Onomatopoeia was still out there. Also, Batman had figured out how the serial killer got into the Batcave in the first place. It was seemingly impossible, but there was an air vent that was repeatedly opened and closed. To top it off; several windows had their alarms deactivated at Wayne Manor, without alerting the security system. Whoever Onomatopoeia was, he was not only skilled in security, but also in infiltration and combat.

The Dark Knight was also gaining tension with Superman. Superman and several other heroes had becoming increasingly complacent in their duties because of the quiet in action. Bruce believed that something big was about to go down. Of course, the Howling Commandos had been staying silent as well. Since that time in North Africa, they had not been sighted.

On the positive side, Tigra and Blue Beetle were soon getting married. They had already announced a date for the wedding, and, of course, Booster Gold, as best man, was trying to set up a bachelor party for his friend. Ted had insisted on no parties, but the hero from the future was pushing the issue. He was still pushing the issue as he and the inventor walked into the cafeteria,

"Why don't you want a bachelor party, Ted? I can totally get you some high class strippers."

Ted took some coffee and began drinking it,

"Michael, for the last time, no."

Michael exclaimed,

"You've got to have a party! You're not going to be single for very long, and I would be shirking my duties as best man if I didn't throw you a proper party."

Hippolyta and Diana had been listening to the conversation and the blonde queen shook her head,

"I sometimes will never fully understand men."

Diana rolled her eyes,

"It's Booster Gold. No one understands him. Just like Persiana."

Hippolyta nodded, then felt something brush up against her leg. She peered down and squealed,

"THERE YOU ARE!"

Cap groaned,

"Oh no."

He dove out from under the table and started running,

"HELP! SHE'S FOUND ME!"  
>And Hippolyta gave chase to her new boyfriend. Diana shook her head,<p>

"I will never understand it myself."

**Meanwhile… **

Gorilla Grodd, Chemo, and Scavenger were outside an airport. Using his telepathy, in conjunction with a stealth device built by the elderly tech inventor, the three of them were able to sneak onto a large aircraft that could house the massive chemical blob. Taking control of the pilots' minds, the three were now taking off in the middle of the night. Grodd said,

"Gentlemen, in a few minutes, we will be over our target."

He contacted Thinker,

"How are things on your end?"

The Thinker appeared as a hologram,

"Sir, the Metal Men have just finished another training session. They are currently residing in repair stasis."

The simian telepath nodded,

"Excellent. Do you have the coordinates I gave you?"

The holographic android nodded,

"Yes. All we have to do is have Crisis receive the information. I am sending it to him now. He will come."

Scavenger rubbed his hands,

"Remember, Grodd. We had a deal. As soon as Gorilla City is taken, I want access to all of its technology so I can prepare myself for the upcoming war!"

Grodd rolled his eyes,

"Yes, yes. I am aware of that. And, you shall get it."

One of the pilots, influenced by Grodd, said,

"We're over the target now, sir."

Grodd and Scavenger gripped tightly as the large plane began flying over Bludhaven. The door began to open and Chemo jumped out of the plane. The mass of chemical protoplasm spread his hands out, as if expecting to pull a parachute. However, there was no parachute and, as Chemo hit the ground, a massive crater formed, and an eerily green cloud began to form and spread throughout Bludhaven.

Grodd looked down and called out telepathically,

"Begin the assault on Gorilla City."

Next Chapter:  
>The Justice League is divided by Grodd's plan, and the Thinker lures Crisis into a trap. Stay tuned, fellow readers! Things are going to get interesting!<p> 


	23. Chapter 23

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana and Leon/Crisis. _

Chapter 23: Going Ape Part 2 

Bludhaven was a city just across the river from Gotham. Had it not been for the underground tunnel that separated the two cities, one would think that, from afar, Gotham was a massive city with a river that ran through it. However, the local signs said otherwise.

Today, however, both cities would be affected on a scale even the Justice League could not imagine. First reports indicated that a massive green meteor was falling out of the sky. It was really Chemo, the chemical sentinel, and, by being dropped thousands of feet in the air, his body impacted near the center of Bludhaven. The impact left a massive crater and a plume of green smoke. At first, bystanders thought that a nuclear bomb had detonated, and then, the chemical gases began to flow throughout the city.

Every vent, open window, and storm drain within a half-mile of the impact zone was flooded with poisonous gas and corrosive chemicals. Brick buildings and statues began melting slowly, being reduced to pools of liquid. People died from inhaling the poisonous gas, having everything from seizures to respiratory failure.

Chemo itself was spread across the city, and a sickly green poisonous cloud began floating over Bludhaven. Parts of Gotham were also under the gas, and several members of the Justice League, equipped with gas masks and hazardous material outfits, were attempting to find survivors amongst the wreckage. Mr. Terrific had launched his T-Spheres to identify the source of the chemicals, while Martian Manhunter began coordinating searches, using his telepathy to find any survivors in the impact zone.

Bludhaven had been quarantined off, but so was Gotham. The two cities had become totally paralyzed by the gas and chemical attack.

From afar, on the stolen plane, Grodd marveled at the destruction,

"Incredible. It's hard to believe we did that."

Scavenger nodded,

"Yes, Grodd. Even though Fatality is not with us, I feel as though the plan will work. Now, for me and Thinker to do our part."

The simian ape watched as the techno-obsessed elder pulled out a cell-phone like device and called,

"Thinker, it's me. Prepare to take control of the Metal Men."

Thinker said,

"Understood."

Scavenger then made another call as Grodd gave a telepathic order,

_Nyola, lead the assault on Gorilla City. Scavenger and I shall meet you there. _

**Meanwhile… **

Fury was shaking his head,

"I don't like this. Those four should have contacted us by now."

Bast nodded,

"I fear as though you may be right. I am attempting to contact any feline in Kasnia, but all of them say the same thing; they have not seen-."

The goddess of felines stopped and seemed to concentrate on one,

"Wait, one of them did see the four of them. She said they were taken hostage by Daken and a man with a red skull."

Fury blinked,

"What? Are you certain?"

War Machine swallowed,

"The Red Skull is here? Did I hear that right?"

The one-eyed leader of the Howling Commandos said,

"This could be a problem."

Deadpool stood up and saluted,

"Major Deadpool, reporting for duty sir!"  
>Fury looked at the insane mercenary and said,<p>

"Wade, shut up."

Crisis entered the main control room,

"Colonel, what's going on? I just got a call about a possible sighting for Daken."  
>Fury shook his head,<p>

"This can't be a coincidence. The Red Skull may be here."

Leon blinked in surprise,

"He's here? How is that possible?"

Fury began walking over to a storage locker,

"I don't know, kid. The point is we need to go to Kasnia right now."

The red-eyed powerhouse shook his head,

"But, what about this source? He may know where Daken is and we may never get another chance like this again!"  
>Fury sighed heavily; this was a very difficult situation for the former head of SHIELD to make. He said,<p>

"Kid, I know you want to find Daken, and I know you don't want this lead to get ruined."

Colonel Fury looked at War Machine,

"We'll head out. Crisis, check this lead. If he's screwing with ya, meet us in Kasnia."

Persiana watched as the others went off in separate directions. Leon looked back at his girlfriend and held her,

"I know you want to come, but I don't want anything to happen to the baby."

Farrah said,

"I'll be fine. I'll do a check on the call. It's the least I could do."

**Meanwhile… **

Colonel Rajak was sitting in the main strategy room of his palace. He had heard of the prisoners that were taken and looked at Daken,

"And, you're sure the American government did not send them."

The son of Wolverine smirked,

"Course not. I know how badly you want to politicize this, but they're here of their own accord. Sorry."  
>He then had a lecherous grin,<p>

"Though, I have to admit, the Wonder Woman-lite looked pretty cute. I might introduce myself to her later."

Rajak shook his head, disgusted at the way he drooled after that woman. The military dictator asked,

"Where is the Red Skull?"

The Mohawk-wearing warrior shrugged,

"Beats me. Said he had a project he was looking into."

Rajak growled,

"I already had the nerve gas developed. What is he doing that is more important the plans for the nerve gas?"

**Meanwhile… **

The Red Skull marveled at the sight,

"Perfect. Vhis vill be our finest hour."

He was presently staring into a room that numerous scientists and surgeons, all loyal to him, of course, put the finishing touches on a something the Red Skull had been seeking for quite some time.

Ever since the Red Skull first came into existence, there had always been a dream for Nazi Germany; a dream to create the ultimate _ubermensch,_ a superman that would epitomize the Nazi empire's strength and utter dedication to what Nazi Germany stood for.

And, it was this time that it would come to fruition.

The creation of the ultimate _ubermensch_…Captain Nazi.

Next Chapter:

Going Ape continues as the Legion of Doom infiltrates Gorilla City, and the Justice League is spread thin as to contain the violence there and in Bludhaven. Also, Crisis checks out the lead, and Fury leads his remaining Howling Commandos on a rescue mission. Stay tuned, fellow readers; the action is going to heat up!


	24. Chapter 24

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Bast, and Leon/Crisis. _

Chapter 24: Going Ape Part 3 

**In Nevada… **

Dr. William Magnus was presently working on another android body. For months, he studied the alien green metal he had with him in his lab. The veridium was one of the oddest metals he had ever come across. He knew it was not Kryptonite, but the veridium was emitting a low-level energy frequency. It seemed almost like a radio wave of some kind, like the metal was broadcasting. Magnus had no idea what it could mean, but he had a theory; maybe he could imprint the metal onto the android body as he had done with the other Metal Men.

Suddenly, there was a power surge and the other Metal Men, who had been in hibernated stasis, awoke. Magnus looked up,

"What's going on?"

The Metal Men, led by Gold, began to get up and pull the plugs out of their stasis chambers. The robotics expert then noticed they were not walking like their normal selves; it was as if they were being controlled. Magnus ordered,

"Stop! You haven't finished-!"

As Magnus approached them, Platinum threw him aside, crashing into some of the furniture. Then, the Metal Men exited the room and began to slaughter all the scientists that were there, as well as decimate the troops stationed.

Magnus was thrown into the veridium case and the metal rolled slowly passed Magnus near the table where the inactive android was being worked on. William groaned slowly as he got up and struggled to secure the veridium. As he approached it, he could feel the energy from the alien metal growing more powerful. As Magnus touched it, the metal glowed even brighter in a haunting green light…

**Over the Nevada desert… **

Crisis was flying at his maximum speed, attempting to get to the source in time for information on Daken. He was not far away until, suddenly, he heard an explosion. The red-eyed powerhouse shook his head,

"What was that?"

As he approached, he saw several troops running out from a control bunker, frantically firing their weapons. Whatever they were trying to hit or inflict damage on, the looks on their faces said it was not working.

Iron and Lead then came at the soldiers and tried to kill them until Crisis flew into the two members of the Metal Men and forced them away. He turned to the soldiers and shouted,

"Get out of here now!"

One of the soldiers complied and ran off, but another was frozen. He pointed,

"You-you-you're Crisis!"

The red-eyed member of the Howling Commandos said,

"I'll sign an autograph later. You need to get out!"

Iron had recovered and, changing the shape of his arm into a mallet and slamming the attack on Crisis' back. Leon fell down hard and looked up, glaring,

"That hurt!"  
>He lashed out with an energy blast, but Lead enveloped his body around Iron like a shield and absorbed the blast. Leon blinked,<p>

"Oh, crap."

He rolled out of the way as Iron continued his assault.

**Elsewhere… **

General Lane and Lieutenant Delgado were in the limousine, on the way to file a report with the president. The secretary's phone rang and Miriam answered it,

"Hello?"

A few moments passed before the lieutenant's eyes widened,

"Crisis has been sighted?"

At this, the four-star general spun his head in her direction as she continued the conversation,

"I shall inform him of this development."

She hung up and looked at Sam Lane,

"Sir, Crisis was spotted on the perimeter of Base Sierra in Nevada. The Metal Men are engaging him."

The general smirked evilly,

"Excellent. This only furthers my plan. Make sure the Metal Men capture Crisis alive. I want to know what he took and passed onto the Howling Commandos."

Miriam nodded,

"Very well, sir."

**Meanwhile, at Gorilla City… **

Nyola ordered,

"We must press on to the palace!"

The Aztec priestess created fog and a thunderstorm as the soldiers of Gorilla City engaged the Legion of Doom. Solovar, the true king of Gorilla City, was ordering the women and children to be brought to the palace and had his most elite guards protect them. He himself was directing the assault on the ground with a blaster and his simian soldiers were attempting to out-flank the Legion.

King Shark dove into the town fountain and, tearing at one gorilla with his teeth, managed to snatch the soldier's rifle,

"Hah! I am King Shark, and I live for this moment!"

He began firing the blaster, not caring where he was aiming. Firefly and Blackfire were flying overhead, setting fire and destroying battle placements and armaments. The armored fire-user laughed,

"Burn! Burn it all!"

The Tamaran exile rolled her eyes,

"Must you enjoy so much destruction?"

Ignition speared through several troop lines, forcing the Gorilla City Warriors into a pincer movement, defending themselves from the front while dealing with the breach from the back. The mechanical power house picked up one gorilla and snapped him in half like a rubber band. He then began flailing him around like a ragdoll, using the dead gorilla as a weapon.

Vandal Savage was busy reconfiguring a weapon while Parasite, having absorbed the agility and fighting techniques of several of the warriors, managed to keep in pace with them as he fought with them.

Solovar knew that it was only a matter of time before Grodd appeared and tried to take over, so he sent out a distress signal,

"Justice League; this is Solovar. I am in need of assistance. Grodd's Legion of Doom is attacking and we need your help!"

Next Chapter:

The Justice League divides up to combat the Legion of Doom and assist in the rescue of several trapped civilians in Bludhaven, but, when they find out Crisis has surfaced, Wonder Woman flies off to confront him! Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	25. Chapter 25

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Leon/Crisis, and Bast. _

Chapter 25: Going Ape Part 4 

Michael Holt, the hero Mr. Terrific, and J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, were coordinating the relief efforts from Watchtower. The Martian Manhunter said,

"Superman, we have just received a distress signal from Solovar. Gorilla City is under attack by a new Legion of Doom."

Mr. Terrific added,

"We also have Crisis sighted in the Nevada desert. It appears he's being attacked by some unknown force. I've never seen anything like it."

Wonder Woman threw aside some rubble as she heard that over the com-link,

"Crisis has been spotted?"

Before anyone could stop her, she was already flying out to the Nevada desert as fast as she could. Superman directed,

"J'onn, send as many League members that will be needed to stop the Legion of Doom. Once I finish up here, I'll join them."

**Meanwhile, in Nevada… **

Crisis could feel the hot, sandy wind in his face as he adjusted his glasses and looked at the Metal Men. He shook his head,

"This is bad."

Gold ordered,

"Iron, Lead; attack!"

The two heavier metals started to barrel in. Crisis took out his light saber and attempted to slice through one of them, but Mercury had snuck behind and enveloped the precog commando. Leon struggled to get out of the mess, but then felt a powerful jab from Iron and another from Lead.

Though the jabs did not do any serious damage, it was enough to drop Crisis to his knees and lose his light saber. Mercury came off of him and Iron and Lead held him down. Leon looked up as Platinum leered down at him. She smirked,

"You know, for an organic, you are very attractive."

The red-eyed commando got a close look at the female Metal Men member and blinked at something. He saw something in her eyes and shook his head,

"You've been reprogrammed."

Just then, the Thinker appeared as a holographic projection,

"Yes, they have been. By me."

Leon looked up,

"Why? Why go after me?"

The Thinker responded,

"I suppose, if you are to die, then there would be no harm in telling you. The Metal Men were created by a scientist by the name of William Magnus, an expert engineer and robotics expert. The Metal Men are part of a project called OMAC, and it was in danger of being taken over by General Sam Lane. He was going to use the project in a war against you and the other Howling Commandos."

Leon nodded,

"So, let me guess; if you kill me, then General Lane can't use the Metal Men for his own ends, and the Howling Commandos remain anonymous."

Thinker shook his head,

"This is about proving who the superior android was, ever since Checkmate brought Ultron in, I would become obsolete."

Leon chuckled,

"So, this is all about revenge. Huh, never would have thought a walking garbage can like you had any emotions."

Thinker said,

"This is about proving who the superior life form is, not revenge. Revenge is a human trait your species thrives upon."

The red-eyed powerhouse began laughing,

"Oh, please. You're the very thing you despise, and you know it!"

The holographic robot said,

"Gold, kill this human. Then, we will leave, find Ultron, and destroy him as well."

The shining leader of the Metal Men directed,

"Platinum, Tin; kill him."

Tin said,

"There will be some slight discomfort."

As the element-named robot began to advance, suddenly, there was an energy blast that exploded in the middle of the Metal Men, sending them scattering everywhere.

Thinker looked up and scanned,

"I do not know you."

The green-metallic android said,

"You can call me…Veridium."

**Meanwhile, in Gorilla City… **

The Gorilla City warriors were holding the line at every access point to the palace. They were all determined not to allow the Legion of Doom to enter. Solovar looked at his battle weary troops, but he and they all knew the fighting had to continue. The simian ruler shook his head and getting ready for another assault.

Ignition and Absorbing Man came right at the front of the assault pack, taking the brunt of the damage. Nyola took to the skies and showered hail and lightning from the sky, as Firefly and Blackfire set everything ablaze, or caused generators to explode. Solovar fired his assault rifle as best he could, encouraging,

"Hold this line! We cannot allow them to enter the palace!"

The weather manipulator hissed,

"Fall before my fury!"  
>She lashed out with a lightning bolt and it electrocuted several of the weapons and their handlers. Parasite was draining everything he could. Vandal Savage was busy reconfiguring several rifles that were damaged and managed to create a super-charged rifle for his own use. He directed,<p>

"King Shark, I shall cover you. Get behind that line."

The would be shark god nodded,

"Got it! Such a glorious day for Grodd!"

He tore through, literally, the lines, and several gorilla warriors.

Solovar shook his head; he knew it was getting hopeless. He prayed that the League would get there in time.

However, a faint click from a plasma rifle behind him was a sign that maybe, the League might not get there in time. He turned and Grodd, along with Scavenger, smiled sadistically. The evil, simian ape said,

"No hard feelings, Solovar. I just could never listen to you."

The plasma shot screamed, but was silenced by the echoes of the others…

Next Chapter:

Lots more action! Chemo reforms and takes on Superman! Veridium and Crisis team up to stop the Metal Men! John Stewart leads a team to counter the Legion, but get more than they bargained for in Gorilla City! And, we'll check in with the rescue from Kasnia! Stay tuned, fellow readers! It's only going to get better!


	26. Chapter 26

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Leon/Crisis, and Bast. _

Chapter 26: Going Ape Part 5 

**In Kasnia… **

Colonel Rajak was walking down to the underbelly of the castle, determined to find out what his ally the Red Skull was doing besides the manufacturing of nerve gas. The dictator shook his head, grumbling something about the Western agenda, and, as he opened the doors to the basement, the Red Skull greeted him,

"Greetings, Herr Rajak. How are you today?"

Rajak looked at his ally, who was now sporting a Nazi military uniform. The Middle Eastern dictator snarled,

"I should have suspected this; that you were never to be trusted."

The Nazi tyrant chuckled,

"Why, Herr Rajak; are you here to terminate our relationship?"

The colonel pulled out a pistol and pointed it right at the Red Skull,

"Yes. I will never work for a Nazi like you. My men-."

Red Skull cut him off,

"Your men are obsolete, colonel. You see, for the past few months, I have been creating my own brand of soldiers that would utterly decimate any standing military."

He snapped his fingers, smirking underneath his mask,

"Captain, kill Rajak."

A muscular blonde man with a Nazi emblem on his chest had sped behind Rajak and, gripping the colonel's neck, snapped it. Rajak was still alive as his final look was the Red Skull directing,

"Now, prepare Axis America and the Aryan Brigade. It is time we make known to the world that the Third Reich is reborn!"  
>Suddenly, there was a loud explosion and the ground shook. One of the soldiers came in,<p>

"Sir, someone is attacking the castle!"

Red Skull ordered,

"Captain Nazi, deal with the threat."

The Nazi powerhouse saluted and left.

**Outside Kasnia… **

War Machine was laying waste to whatever troops were coming at him as they tried to engage. He said,

"Fury, are you sure this is going to work?"

Fury, who was in the sewer system with Bast and Deadpool, said,

"It will. I wish Crisis was here to back us up, but that guy we interrogated said they're in the castle, and we'll head there. Just keep them busy."

War Machine nodded,

"All right."

He then scanned Captain Nazi coming in and shook his head,

"Looks like I'm gonna have a full plate."

Deadpool clapped his hands excitedly,

"Oh, boy! I finally get to hack something to pieces! Yay Deadpool!"

Bast shook her head,

"You disgust me worse than this sewer."

The wise-cracking mercenary chuckled,

"Lighten up, kitten. Think of all the bad guys we'll be able to fight!"

Fury pulled out his pistol and said,

"We rescue our teammates, and then, send the Red Skull packing. Move out."

**Meanwhile… **

Veridium said,

"Metal Men, I am Doctor Magnus, and I am ordering you to stand down now!"  
>Thinker ran a scan,<p>

"You are not like any of the other androids. This metal is unknown to me."

Crisis took this opportunity and threw Lead and Iron into the other Metal Men. He retrieved his light saber and was about to attack when Veridium, using the power of his new android body, stepped in front of him,

"No! These are my creations! You can't destroy them!"

The red-eyed commando said,

"That can't be helped! Thinker has reprogrammed them to serve him!"

The green-hued android wanted to debate this further, but his scanners flared up,

"There's someone approaching."

Leon asked,

"Who is it?"

"Wonder Woman."

Crisis winced,

"Oh, this is going to be bad, I just know it."

The Amazon princess landed hard and grabbed the powerhouse by the neck,

"Give me one reason you should live."

Leon could tell Diana was not in the best of moods, but he tried to maintain his composure as best he could,

"Troia made her decision. I had nothing to do with it."

Diana yelled,

"I haven't seen my sister in months! How do I know she is not dead?"

Leon shouted back,

"Because she's been captured and the others are rescuing her right now!"

At this, the Amazon warrior said,

"What?"

Leon got loose and explained,

"Troia lead a team inside Kasnia because a man named Rajak teamed up with the Red Skull to develop nerve gas. Right now, she's been captured, and the others are going to rescue her."

Diana snarled,

"What are you doing here, then?"

Leon said,

"I was checking a lead on Daken when I got ambushed by the Metal Men."

Veridium continued,

"They are androids I developed for the military, but the Thinker took control of them. Please, they are like family to me. I want to do everything I can to make sure they do not get damaged extensively."

Thinker, who had recovered, along with the Metal Men, said,

"Metal Men, destroy them all."

The Metal Men all had their eyes glow ominously as they seemingly collided into each other, and started to grow. Segments began to form; large arms and legs, and finally a head. On the head was a single, eye-like lens on the robot and the giant towered over the three heroes. Crisis asked,

"Uh, Doc; could they do that before?"

Veridium shook his head,

"No, this is the first time I have ever seen anything like this."

The giant metallic being said,

"We are Alloy."

**Meanwhile, in Bludhaven… **

Superman was continuing with the evacuations when, suddenly, the ground shook. The green gas receded to street level and into the cracks. Then, the ground started to rumble and quake, and soon, the Last Son of Krypton was now staring at a giant green glob that partially resembled a human being.

Chemo started down at Superman and attempted to squash him…

Next Chapter:

Going Ape continues as the Justice League heads to Gorilla City, the battle in the Nevada desert really heats up, and the rescue in Kasnia may not be a rescue when the Howling Commandos encounter the Aryan Brigade and Axis America. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	27. Chapter 27

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Leon/Crisis, and Bast. _

Chapter 27: Going Ape Part 6 

**In Nevada… **

General Lane and Lieutenant Delgado were arriving at an active military base. The general walked to the base commander's office and, after they saluted, the four-star general said,

"Captain, I require the use of this base. We have a suspected terrorist confirmed in near one of our top secret instillations and we need to apprehend him immediately."

The captain said,

"Sir, what about the security at this top secret base?"

General Lane shook his head,

"This terrorist compromised the integrity of the base. Some soldiers were killed, and he is in the midst of stealing classified documents."

The Captain swallowed at that and nodded,

"I shall have units accompany you to that base."

**In another part of Nevada… **

Crisis, Veridium, and Wonder Woman began staring at the giant, metallic robot known as Alloy. The red-eyed commando asked,

"I am going out on a limb, Magnus, but I am guessing that this wasn't part of the basic programming, wasn't it?"

Diana shook her head,

"Crisis."

Leon chuckled,

"I guess I took after Persiana for that one."

Alloy formed a large mallet for a hand and attempted to slam it into the three of them. All of them scattered as Alloy attempted to focus on one of them. Veridium rolled out of the way and ran a scan,

"Thinker is no longer in the area."

Crisis unleashed his lightsaber on the massive android,

"How do we shut these things down?"

Doctor Magnus stopped a fist from crushing him,

"We have to get to the emergency shut down."

Wonder Woman punched one of Alloy's knees,

"And where is it?"

Magnus ducked another punch from Alloy and said,

"It's in the base, but the only other option is to flat out destroy them, and I won't let that happen!"

Crisis got snatched by Alloy and slammed into the ground hard. He groaned and held his head,

"This is about as bad as my visions."

Wonder Woman flew up to the center of Alloy's head and slammed a fist into it. This caused the large, united android to stumble back and fall, breaking back into its components. Gold looked back up and saw Veridium and Wonder Woman closing in on them. The shiny metallic Metal Men member attempted to assess the situation. The other Metal Men, protected by Iron and Lead, braced for another attack.

Crisis stumbled to his feet and looked at the Metal Men carefully. His glasses were broken in the attack and he had to squint his eyes to see in the burning Nevada heat. Leon had an idea. He rushed behind the Metal Men and unleashed an energy attack, significantly damaging Gold. The other Metal Men turned and Tin tried to take command, but another energy pulse, this time from Veridium, shut down the remaining Metal Men.

Veridium looked at Gold and saw how badly he was injured. The scientist then looked at Crisis,

"Was that necessary? We could have saved them if we had more time!"

Leon shook his head,

"We don't have that kind of time! We have to get out of here before the military starts breathing down our necks. I was lured here and, if they catch you two, they're going to think that you're part of the Howling Commandos and that it's been sanctioned by the League."

Diana glared,

"I am not leaving until my sister is safe!"

The red-eyed commando said,

"She'll be safe. Trust me on this. But, if you don't leave right now, you won't be!"

Veridium could see the Amazon warrior wanting to continue this, but he interjected,

"Wait, he's right, Wonder Woman. Besides, I need to repair the Metal Men and this base is compromised. Please, bring me aboard Watchtower so I can help them."

Diana sighed angrily; she really hated this dilemma. She nodded,

"All right, I will bring you aboard."

Suddenly, Crisis began holding his head, screaming,

"NO! Not now!"

It was another vision and, as he held his head, it was a powerful one. He fell down on the desert sand and began seizing up, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. Diana and Veridium watched as they transported up with the damaged Metal Men. Crisis then stopped, but lay in the desert weak. He looked up and, for a moment, saw the blinding desert sun. Then, he saw a figure stand over him that had a sinister grin on his face.

It was General Lane…

**Meanwhile… **

Chemo had reformed and was now fighting the Man of Steel. Superman evaded an attack and landed a powerful punch to the walking chemical giant. Chemo stumbled slight from the punch, but then landed a powerful swat on the leader of the Justice League. Clark stumbled and crashed into some rubble. He shook his head and, with a new look of determination in his eyes, flew back at Chemo at full force and punched him in the stomach. The shockwave from the blow could be felt throughout Bludhaven, as small debris was blown away by the sudden gust of wind. Chemo stumbled back, falling down in a deserted part of the city.

Martian Manhunter called in,

"We are receiving reports that Grodd has now taken over Gorilla City and the team we sent in needs help. Superman, I have an idea on how to handle Chemo; we will transport him to an asteroid belt far away so that none of the chemicals can cause any more harm to Bludhaven."

The Man of Steel nodded,

"Do it."

In a few moments, the chemical giant disappeared in a brilliant light, presumably a transporter beam. Chemo disappeared from Bludhaven's sight and Superman called in,

"You did it, J'onn."

The Martian hero nodded,

"Yes, it did work, but you must hurry, Superman. I shall meet you in Gorilla City to help the team we sent in."

Next Chapter:

Going Ape continues as the team sent into Gorilla City gets rescued by a very surprising ally, and the battle in Kasnia rages on as the Howling Commandos take on Axis America and the Aryan Brigade. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	28. Chapter 28

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Bast, and Leon/Crisis. _

Chapter 28: Going Ape Part 7 

**In Kasnia… **

Fury and Deadpool shot their way past several guards. Since War Machine was on top providing the distraction, the alert was sounded for all of Rajak's forces to handle Rhody on the surface. Through the sewer system, however, the sound was able to carry, but, with an explosion every few seconds, it was really easy for Fury, Deadpool, and Bast to kill the guards as they made their way to the holding cells where the other members of the Howling Commandos were.

The one-eyed former head of SHIELD said,

"We're almost to the sub-basement. Keep your eyes sharp!"

Wade blinked,

"That would hurt, wouldn't it? And, what would I use to sharpen it with, my sword?"

Bast lashed out with her scimitar as she sliced several guards into pieces,

"Keep focused. This stench is overpowering."

Wade nodded,

"Yeah, tell me about it. I am SO taking a bath when this is over."  
>He grinned underneath his mask,<p>

"Of course, you can join me, kitty."

The Merc-with-a-mouth then blinked,

"Really? I'm flirting with an OC? Don't get me wrong, she's hot and everything, but-."

Suddenly, a jet of fire caused the ranting mercenary to duck out of the way at the last second. Deadpool shouted,

"Hey! Who dares interrupt my fourth wall breakage?"

Four individuals appeared in front of the three Howling Commandos. One of them was a Mohawk wearing muscular man with a big red cross on his black shirt. His name is Iron Cross.

The second was another blonde man with long, whip-like arms that seemed to stretch well beyond human norm. He was known as Backlash.

The third was a woman with blonde hair, wearing all white, and had a fireball in her hands. Her name is Heatmonger.

The fourth was another woman with blonde hair and a pole of some kind. She wore dark glasses and went by the name of Blind Faith.

They were known as the Aryan Brigade.

Iron Cross grinned evilly,

"Well, well, well. Check out who's causing all the trouble. And, here I thought it was just that tin can topside."

Fury narrowed his eyes,

"Let me guess; Red Skull created you."

Blind Faith shook her head,

"The one-eyed man and the feline I cannot read. The one with the mask, however…"

She screamed out loud,

"NO! NO! GET AWAY!"  
>She then collapsed.<p>

Deadpool blinked,

"Here's a little advice; don't read my mind. You don't want to go in there. In fact, I don't want to go in there. It's freaky. You know how crazy my mind is."

He pulled out a machine gun,

"Now, why don't you just surrender before I change my mind? Or, my mind changes me."

Wade blinked,

"Wow, talk about an Oblivion reference."

Iron Cross charged in,

"You'll die so that the white race shall rule!"  
>Fury said,<p>

"Deadpool, stop them. Bast and I are going after the others."

With that, Deadpool was left to fight off the remaining members of the Aryan Brigade.

**Meanwhile… **

Arsenal, Troia, Fire, and the Punisher were in a cell in the castle. The four had heard the sounds of the fighting going on outside and were noticing all the guards running around, almost as if a mad panic had set in. Roy fiddled with the chain,

"If I could just slip out of these, we'd be all set."

Fire and Troia tried to use their powers, but the chains were much harder to break out of than they realized. Bea said,

"The metal…it doesn't seem natural. It's hard to overheat them."

Donna nodded,

"And the chains are nearly impossible to break."

Castle kept struggling,

"Maybe we can get to where the chains are anchored and pull them out that way."

The younger Amazon said,

"It's possible that the same metal could be anchoring the chains."  
>An idea then clicked,<p>

"Let me try something."

Slowly, she began breathing deeply, as if trying to concentrate on something. She positioned her hands as if she was going to go bring her hands out of the chains by slipping out of them. The raven-haired young woman took a few more calming breaths before beginning a count to three. On three, she pulled her wrists out of the chains as hard and as fast as she could.

Donna managed to get free, but was in severe pain as her thumbs had been dislocated out of their sockets. She bit it back as to not draw attention to the others and began holding her thumbs as best as she could. Donna took a moment to reset them and shook her head,

"That hurt worse than I thought. I wonder how Farrah and Batman can do it so easily."

Roy blinked,

"You did it."

Donna stood up,

"You seem surprised."

The archer shook his head,

"No, I just never expected you to do that."

Donna smiled,

"I am full of surprises."

She said,

"Roy, I need a lockpick from you."

The red-head nodded,

"Yeah, it's in my pocket."

Donna began fishing around in Roy's chest pocket and she grinned,

"So, Roy…do you like to be restrained like this?"

Roy smirked,

"Depends…are you going to whip me as well?"

Donna replied seductively,

"That depends. Have you been a bad boy?"

Castle groaned,

"Great, this is just what we need. You two flirting with each other."

Bea nodded,

"Yeah, could you save the fantasy for some other time? We really need to get out of here."

After a few minutes of picking the locks on the chains, the four commandos left the room to find their weapons. As they were making their way around a corner, Roy noticed Daken poised to strike at Donna. The archer yelled,

"Get down!"

He pushed Donna out of the just as one of Daken's claws came swinging down. The claw, instead of decapitating Troia, ended up slicing off Roy's left arm. Arsenal screamed and held his arm as Daken lunged for them. Fire got in front and lashed out with an inferno, bathing the son of Wolverine with green flames. Daken struggled and continued to scream as he flailed about like a firefly. He rolled around and managed to ignite the tapestries on the floor.

Roy shouted and held what was left of his arm, a bloody mess. Donna gasped in horror,

"Roy!"

Castle said,

"We have to cauterize the wound, now!"  
>He grabbed a metallic stand and, taking his shirt off, wrapped it, leaving the metal base exposed. He ordered,<p>

"Fire, heat this thing up."

The former Brazilian spy did so, heating the object up until it was hot like a brand. Punisher then said,

"Troia, you need to hold Arsenal down while I do this."

The young Amazon warrior did so and Castle began applying the heated brand to Roy's arm.

It took a few moments, but the wound was cauterized and the bleeding had stopped. However, Roy's true arm was lost in the fire.

Just then, Fury and Bast had met up with them. The goddess of felines said,

"What has happened?"

Donna said,

"Roy lost his arm for me."

She had been holding him, and Arsenal had fallen unconscious. Fury said,

"Castle; take Bast with you and get Arsenal out of here. I'm paying a visit to the Red Skull."

"Ask, and you shall receive, Herr Fury."  
>The Red Skull stood in the midst of the destruction. Smirking underneath that insidious red mask, he grinned,<p>

"I must admit, Herr Fury; I was expecting Captain America to be joining you. However, this works well too."

Just then, the flames subsided as five individuals appeared around the Red Skull. The Nazi warlord beckoned,

"Now, meet Axis America!"

Next Chapter:

The spotlight turns to the Justice League and their bid to try and save Gorilla City. Stay tuned, fellow readers! The action isn't over yet!


	29. Chapter 29

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Leon/Crisis, and Bast. _

Chapter 29: Going Ape Part 8 

John Stewart was leading a team of League members into the chaotic battle of Gorilla City. With him were Mary Marvel, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Ice, Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, Hawkman, Tigra, and Metamorpho. Grodd had taken over Gorilla City and, installing a powerful mind control device, made all the gorilla warriors his personal slaves. The simian telepath unleashed them all on the Justice League. Guy Gardner charged an emerald shot from his ring into one of the gorilla's gun placements,

"Yeah! Kiss my ass, you walking shag rugs!"

Skeets, Booster Gold's robotic assistant, hovered near Booster and John,

"Sirs, the mind control device is at the castle. Grodd has his most elite warriors protecting him."

John directed,

"Mary, take Hawkman and Hawkgirl with you and keep the troops busy. Metamorpho, you and I are going to find the device at the castle."

Ice created a freezing shield of frozen water as she got to cover,

"There are too many of them."

Metamorpho took a gaseous form and whiffed by the gorillas that had Tora pinned down. Soon, they all began hacking and coughing. The element changing hero then became sold and, forming a hammer with his arm, slammed one gorilla warrior with it into the others. Rex said,

"It's all clear, Ice."

Tora smiled,

"Thanks, Rex!"  
>Hawkgirl was holding her own against several of the warriors. One of them tried to grab her, but Hawkman came barreling in. Carter slammed his mace into the Gorilla City Warrior and sent the controlled simian away. Shayera smirked,<p>

"Thanks, Carter."

John looked at the exchange and frowned slightly. Booster taunted,

"Oooh! Someone's jealous!"

John grabbed the fame-seeking hero from the future and snarled,

"Get to work. Now!"

Mary sped around several of the warriors as she approached the castle. The naïve heroine looked around,

"Now, where is Grodd?"

Several of Grodd's elite troops came at her with blasters. One fired and managed to hit the mystical powerhouse. Mary fell to her knees, but then looked up, clenching her fist. She said,

"That was not very nice."

The teen heroine then sped around the troops, smashing their weapons. The gorilla troops looked at her and tried charging at her, but she fought them all off easily.

The Legion of Doom was within the castle and Nyola shouted,

"Those fools have breached the perimeter!"

King Shark flexed his muscles,

"Hah! None shall defeat me, the King Shark!"

He boldly, or stupidly, opened the door and got leveled by a rocketing Guy Gardner. The red-headed Lantern grinned,

"Oh, look! And I'm in the mood for seafood!"

Parasite jumped up, attempting to drain the Green Lantern. However, because Guy had a force field surrounding him, the leeching villain could not drain Guy's powers. Guy grinned,

"Oh, this is gonna hurt."

Forming a baseball bat, the Green Lantern shouted,

"Batter up!"

The emerald-colored bat slammed right into Parasite's head, sending him flying out of the castle. Guy cheered,

"And he's gone! Home run, Guy Gardner!"

Blackfire hissed,

"You won't be so lucky, Lantern!"

Hawkgirl took her mace and slammed it into the exiled alien,

"Don't bet on it!"

Ignition cracked his knuckles,

"All right, who wants some?"

Just then, Superman dropped down in the middle of the castle and hovered in front of the engine of destruction,

"Need help?"

Ignition blitzed the Man of Steel and attempted to perform a powerful punch. However, Superman grabbed the villain's hand and threw him aside like he was nothing.

That victory did not last long as Nyola unleashed a magical bolt of lightning,

"Hah, you're still weak against magic, Superman!"

A tap on her shoulder caused the Aztec priestess to turn around. Blue Beetle pointed his BB gun at her,

"I think it's wrong to hit a woman, so I'll let her do it."

Nyola looked back and saw Tigra deliver a powerful roundhouse kick, knocking out the priestess.

Overhead, Firefly was battling John Stewart. The architect was holding his own against the upgraded pyromaniac. Firefly lashed out with his flame thrower in a bid to hit John, but John quickly encased the armored villain in a bubble. As Firefly tried to ignite his way out, he burned through all his oxygen and fell unconscious.

Meanwhile, Grodd and Scavenger were putting the finishing touches on a weapon. Vandal said,

"Absorbing Man is all alone out there. That device must be ready now!"

The simian telepath said,

"You could always help."

The immortal smirked,

"I could…"

He pressed a button on his cane,

"But, I would much rather watch and see you fail, so I could learn from your mistakes. Tally ho!"

With that, Vandal Savage escaped through a secret passage way. Scavenger scowled,

"Fool. He will be missing out on a moment of greatness when I rise to become a true hero!"

Grodd rolled his eyes,

"Right. The device is ready."

As soon as that was said, a mist formed in the room. Metamorpho grinned,

"Well, isn't that convenient?"  
>He turned to water and slipped into the circuit boards, shorting out the weapon. Grodd shook his head,<p>

"Oh, well. Time for my back up plan."

He was ready to unleash his telepathy when the door burst open and Absorbing Man landed right on top of Grodd. John smirked,

"Good work."

Scavenger shook his head,

"No! I won't let him win again!"

The technology thief began pressing several buttons, and a low hum began to emerge from the telepathy machine. Superman ordered,

"Everybody out, now!"

Metamorpho looked near the machine,

"I think I can stop it!"  
>He seeped in as a mist. John shouted,<p>

"Rex, this is not the time! Get out of there!"

Hawkgirl said,

"He's dead, John! We have to move now!"

The African-American Green Lantern did not want to leave his friend behind.

The Justice League got out of the palace as it exploded. Rubble showered them as both Green Lanterns created emerald barriers to protect the no so invulnerable heroes. Mary Marvel and Superman protected some of the others and, as they got a safe distance away, saw almost nothing left of the palace.

As all seemed like the hero Metamorpho was gone, a part of Rex Mason came at them like a meteorite. He landed in a heap in front of them as his body was regenerating from the explosion. He said weakly,

"I always did want to go out with a bang."

John smirked, shaking his head,

"You're crazy, you know that?"

Rex laughed,

"Like Persiana?"

Hawkgirl said,

"Not quite, but close enough. But, we let Vandal Savage get away."

"No, we did not."

J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, was hovering above the ground with the villainous immortal under heavy restraints. Superman smirked,

"Nice one, J'onn."

Vandal glared,

"And I would have gotten away too, if it wasn't for you stupid League heroes!"

Next Chapter:

Going Ape concludes as the Howling Commandos square off against the Red Skull and his Axis America. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	30. Chapter 30

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Leon/Crisis, and Bast. _

Chapter 30: Going Ape Part 9 

A heavy muscular man with a red 'X' across his face, cracked his knuckles, ready for a right. His name is Ubermensch, the powerhouse and leader of Axis America.

To his right there was a woman with a scornful gaze, dressed like a Viking warrior, wielding a battle axe. Her name is Hel.

The third member of Axis America was Zaladin, a wraith liking being in red robes, wielding a scythe. The robes seemed to move on their own, as if they were alive.

The fourth member was Fleshburn, a man in dark robes that had an eerie glow to him as he held a fireball in his hands.

The final member was Great White, a rather rotund man with a whalebone gauntlet and an electric whip, which cracked and crackled sickeningly.

Red Skull smirked and looked at the assembled villains,

"Vell, vhat do you think? Marvelous, aren't they?"

Fury growled; they had walked right into a trap. From the looks of it, the one-eyed Howling Commando wished Crisis was here instead of chasing down that lead.

Troia narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists. From what her mother told her of the Nazis in World War Two, they were all monsters, and, seeing the Red Skull's mask triggered something in Donna. The younger princess said coldly,

"Fury, get out of here."

Roy said,

"You can't take them all on! Donna-."

The raven-haired warrior turned and said,

"Don't argue with me, Arsenal."

Her face softened,

"Please."

Roy then got a look at Donna. A real, good look. The archer then saw something in Donna he had seen in her always, but, now more so than ever. He nodded,

"All right."

Arsenal said,

"We should leave. Troia's got this."

Fire wanted to protest, but Fury ordered,

"Commandos, move out."

As they retreated down the hall, Red Skull called in,

"Iron Cross, this is Red Skull. They are coming your vay."

There was static on the line before Deadpool's voice could be heard,

"We're sorry. The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected, and the caller has been disemboweled. But, if you leave your name, and, if you're a chick, your dress size, I'll see to it he gets your message. Beep!"

Red Skull slammed his communicator down and grumbled in German. Donna smirked,

"Tough day, Red Skull."

The Nazi leader snarled,

"This cannot get any vorse."

Just then, War Machine came barreling through the other side of the wall. He dropped Captain Nazi, who was riddled with bullets. Red Skull shook his head,

"I should not have said that out loud. Axis America; kill them both."

Hel came at Troia,

"You are no warrior!"

She swung her axe, but Troia sped out of the way as the axe came crashing down on her. She smirked,

"And you're no Valkyrie."

She punched the female member of Axis America in the face, flattening her into a wall. Ubermensch came from behind, grappling her and throwing her down into the floor. As he jumped down, Troia raised her hand and a dazzling light beam shot forth from it, sending the powerhouse villain flying back up.

Great White and Fleshburn came right War Machine, and the armored Howling Commando began spraying bullets. Fleshburn attempted to use his atomic fire and lay waste to Rhody, but War Machine generated a force field at the last second and the attack was repelled. Zaladin came at the gray-armored suit and sliced through the shield with his scythe. Rhody grumbled,

"Magic."

He unleashed a salvo of rockets from his shoulder, attempting to hit all the members of Axis America. Fleshburn was hurt, but Great White was totally incinerated. Zaladin was wrapped up in his cloak as the missiles impacted it, protecting him from harm.

Troia, seeing how the mystical villain was protected, charged at Zaladin and punched hard. However, that cape continued to protect the scythe wielder.

Fleshburn shouted,

"Prepare to burn in atomic fire!"

He went to touch Troia, and the Amazon warrior could feel the super hot flames course through her skin. She screamed in pain, but that only seemed to enrage her. She grabbed Fleshburn by the neck and shouted,

"You think you can do whatever you want! Make people your slaves because they are different!"

The air around Troia began to grow cold. It became noticeable and fast as Red Skull began breathing and noticing his own breath. The Nazi commander then watched as Fleshburn began to see ice form all over his body. The atomic fire user attempted to melt the ice with his powers, but it did not seem to be working. Soon, he was completely frozen and Troia slammed him on the floor, hard. Shards of the icy Fleshburn scattered across the floor like broken glass.

Fleshburn was dead.

Red Skull looked up, a bit surprised that two of his most elite troops were so quickly taken out. He said,

"I have vastly underestimated you and Fury."

He turned to get away, but Troia sped in front of him, a dark look in her eyes. War Machine and Zaladin both noticed Donna's hair looked like a starry night, and, for a moment, her costumed shimmered with the same effect.

It was around this time Ubermensch had revived and, seeing Donna closing in on his superior officer, struck Troia hard. Troia, feeling the impact of the punch, went flying into War Machine. Rhody caught her, and the Red Skull said,

"Ve shall meet again, Howling Commandos!"

A secret escape tunnel was exposed behind one of the tapestries. War Machine shot a missile down the tunnel to have it collapse and said,

"We need to leave now, Troia!"

The two flew out of the castle.

Meanwhile, Fury and the others had met up with Deadpool. Deadpool had minced the remains of the Aryan Brigade and was sitting on a large crate covered by a black drape. He was holding Iron Cross' head as he studied the Mohawk wearing villain,

"You know something? You would look so good on my wall!"  
>Fury ordered,<p>

"Wilson, lose the head. We need to leave!"

Wade threw the head aside and groaned,

"Ah, well. Oh, by the way, these guys here were happy enough to give us a Christmas present!"

He unveiled the crate and the insidious biohazard symbol was painted on it. Castle asked,

"Is that what I think it is?"

Deadpool grinned,

"Fifteen canisters of weapons-grade nerve gas, courtesy of the Red Skull!"

Fury nodded,

"Bring it with us. Good job, Deadpool!"

Deadpool was touched,

"I was thanked! This is so going in my diary!"

He rolled up his sleeve and, taking a tattoo pen, began writing on his arm,

"Dear Diary…"

Though, he was going to be in intense pain for a while.

Next Chapter:

Crisis is in the hands of General Lane, as he is tortured for the information on his teammates. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	31. Chapter 31

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Leon/Crisis, Lance/Diablos, and Bast. _

Chapter 31: Captured! 

Farrah was upset,

"What do you mean, we're not going to look for him?"

The white-haired feline held her stomach. It had been a week since the Howling Commandos returned from Kasnia with the nerve gas, and the Red Skull had gone underground. Fury said flatly,

"We're not going to find him. Crisis is perfectly capable of taking care of himself."

Persiana snarled,

"You're lucky I'm pregnant and my children are coming soon."

For the last several months, Farrah's stomach had swelled. She had no idea of what to expect for her children, but she did know she was having quadruplets. There was the matter of whether they were Leon's or Lance's, but that matter seemed trivial compared to the whereabouts of her love.

Fury said coolly,

"We don't know where he is, and we don't know if he is still alive. All we can do now is secure this nerve gas and wait for an opportunity to use it."

Bast folded her arms, glaring,

"I agree about whether Crisis is alive or not, but I find it distasteful to have such a dangerous weapon with the intent of using it so readily."

The one-eyed commando shook his head,

"We'd only use it when we have to. Right now, it's safe with us."

Farrah clenched her fist down, but Troia came near her,

"Sister, please. Think of your unborn children."

The white-haired lioness reared her fangs in disgust, barely maintaining her composure,

"When I deliver my kids, Fury, your ass is mine."

She stormed off, Troia following closely behind. Bea shook her head,

"Poor girl."

**Meanwhile… **

"Talk, you son of a bitch!"

It would be hard to imagine a powerhouse like Crisis in pain, much less bleeding. However, given that a power nullifier was attached to his forehead, and he was tied to a chair as several soldiers were working him over, the image was not that hard to fathom.

Leon looked up, his red eyes bloodshot. He had no idea how long he had been captured, but the swordsman knew he had been drugged. Leon spat out some blood and still looked defiant as he glared at General Lane,

"Go to hell."

Lane said,

"Inject him again."

One of the soldiers took a syringe and filled it with a clear liquid designed to induce pain. Then, that needle was injected into Crisis' vein on his wrist. In a few moments, Crisis' eyes widened and he felt intense pain, like someone was clutching his heart tightly. Leon wanted to fall on the floor in pain, but he was restrained in the chair. Lane bent down and shook his head,

"You disgust me. I've seen tougher guys like you cry!"

He stormed out of the room,

"Give him ten minutes, and start again."

Lane left and, as he turned around, noticed Amanda Waller staring through the glass. She said,

"He's tough, even without his powers. He's obviously been trained by someone very good."

Lane glared,

"I'll break him."

The heavy-set director of Checkmate did not even meet his gaze,

"You've had him for over a week, general. He hasn't broken."

Lane insisted,

"He will. I need more time! He knows something."

Waller continued to study Crisis through the glass and said,

"I want to speak with him alone."

The four-star general looked at her,

"And why should I let you?"

Amanda looked at him, rather smugly,

"Should you tell the panel that the Metal Men project was compromised, or should I?"

Lane looked like he wanted to hit Amanda, but he grumbled,

"Fine."

He stormed off, hoping to vent his frustrations.

Amanda walked in, carrying a briefcase. She pulled up a seat across from Crisis and said,

"Hello, Crisis."

Leon looked up, shaking his head,

"Sorry about my appearance. These guys wouldn't let me clean up."

He chuckled a little, but Amanda kept a stony face. She opened her briefcase and pulled out some files with a red 'Classified' label stamped on the exterior of the folder.

In the security room, Lane tried to hear what they were saying,

"Put them on speaker."

As one of the soldiers did so, however, they were not able to hear anything. Lane ordered,

"What's happening? What are they saying?"

Back in the room, Waller said,

"We can talk freely, Leon. The cameras are on a loop."

Crisis looked up, a bit surprised. Amanda shook her head,

"Don't act surprised. There was a lot of information we collected from the computers in Russia that Hydra had. Some of it was on you. And Farrah."

She pulled out photos of buildings that were destroyed in various places around the world, continuing,

"I have to admit; you have done a great job leading the Howling Commandos. Three terrorist organizations destroyed; an entire drug family eliminated; and you even toppled several governments in hostile countries. That is impressive, and in all under a year."

She looked up,

"But, I don't think you're the leader of the group."

Leon asked,

"And what makes you say that?"

Amanda said casually,

"You may be the one that is able to gather intelligence rather successfully for a powerhouse, Leon. However, you are not the one that coordinates the assaults and comes up with the plans. Someone on your team has decades of experience in dealing with that."

She put the files away,

"We're still processing what happened in Kasnia. We know about the Red Skull, and he executed Colonel Rajak. But, I think you knew that already. While the others were handling that, you were busy here, tracking a lead on Daken."

Leon shook his head,

"If you know all this, why are we talking?"

The African-American woman said,

"Just getting to know you and telling you what we know."

She stood up,

"Thank you for everything, Leon."

Amanda opened the door and walked out of the room. She did not get far as several troops were stationed outside and Lane demanded,

"What was going on in there?"

Waller said,

"Just carrying out a conversation. You really should sit down and talk with him. Crisis is a very interesting young man."

Lane was furious,

"Lieutenant Delgado!"

Miriam stood at attention. The general ordered,

"Escort Miss Waller off the base."

Delgado saluted and showed Amanda out.

When they were outside, Waller turned to Miriam,

"Thank you for looping the tapes, Miss Delgado."

Miriam glared,

"I said I'd help you if I got my daughter back."

Amanda nodded,

"And you shall. I give you my word. Now, onto the second phase of the operation…"

Next Chapter:

What is the second phase of what operation? Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	32. Chapter 32

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Leon/Crisis, and Bast. _

Chapter 32: Escape! Part 1 

Lieutenant Delgado sat in her office, holding a picture of herself and a young girl. She sighed and looked up at the ceiling, wondering if her child was all right. She had not seen Julianne for almost nine months, ever since that day…

**Flashback… **

Miriam Delgado was wandering the streets of Brazil, trying to make ends meet as a drug dealer and as a prostitute. She had the unique ability to create psychic illusions around herself, making her appear as any woman she could imagine. This was very handy for a prostitute, considering all the men she slept with had different tastes in what a woman should look like. She would create almost any illusion of herself; fat, skinny, blonde, red-head; it did not matter to her. However, Miriam's true form was a slightly orange skin with black and white eyes, and black hair. She had a contact name that people who wanted to purchase her services could use; Mirage. Delgado smirked to herself; the name fit completely.

Mirage was wandering the streets when a man grabbed her and dragged her down the alleyway. It was not uncommon for kidnappings to happen in Brazil, and, having learned to fight on the streets, she fought her attacker and ran as fast as she could.

She escaped back to her small home in a neighborhood that was protected by a home-grown militia. As she closed the door, a voice said,

"Very impressive."

Miriam spun around and saw Amanda Waller sitting in her chair, three armed guards surrounding her. Mirage snarled,

"What are you doing here?"

Amanda said,

"Simple. I want you to work for me."

Miriam glared back,

"Why should I?"

Amanda looked up,

"You're daughter, Julienne. She just turned four, didn't she?"

The young woman was wide-eyed,

"Where is she?"

She ran in the next room, the soldiers attempted to stop her. Waller signaled not to.

Mirage ran around the small house, calling out to find Julienne. However, the little girl was not there. Mirage shrieked,

"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?"  
>Amanda remained calm and cool as she answered,<p>

"At an undisclosed location. You two will be reunited, but, you have to work for me."

Mirage growled lowly, tears welling up in her eyes. She said bitterly,

"What do you want me to do?"

**End Flashback… **

Miriam sighed and put her photo down. She stood up and adjusted her uniform. General Lane was busy interrogating the prisoner again. Mirage shook her head and decided to leave the office for a few minutes, to get some air.

**Meanwhile… **

Lane looked down at Crisis,

"I don't know what you and Waller talked about, but I want answers now!"

Leon looked back up. He was hurt, but he was not going to break. Not to Lane. An idea formed in his head and the red-eyed commando said weakly,

"C-C-Com-om-ome closer."

Lane said,

"Yeah, what is it?"

As the four-star general came closer, Crisis quickly moved and bit of General Lane's ear. He spat it out as the general screamed, clutching his head. Lane howled in pain,

"You sick maniac! What the hell's wrong with you?"

Several of the other troops restrained Crisis as one of them got the general to the infirmary. Leon smirked to himself; it was fun to get a little payback. The beating would be worth it.

The howl of pain did not go unnoticed. Before Mirage had left the base, she had heard the scream from down the hallway and ran to see Lane clutching the side of his head. She asked,

"General, what happened?"

Lane snapped,

"That bastard bit my ear off! He's nuts!"

Miriam blinked in surprise; what type of psycho was Crisis. She wanted to say something, but a part of her was in dread of what Leon did. Then again, another part of her was actually glad Lane was in pain. It seemed almost fitting, in a way.

**A few hours later… **

Crisis, after being beaten up again, noticed he was alone in the room. He tried to think of a way out of his situation. The swordsman had to get out of the room, take the nullifier off, and retrieve his lightsaber. Hopefully, it was still on base. He began to slip his hands free, slowly. Hopefully, no one was watching.

He was about to get one hand free when he heard footsteps approaching. Leon quickly stood still and watched as the door opened, revealing Miriam. She said,

"You've seen better days."

The red-eyed commando chuckled,

"So has Lane."

Miriam almost laughed at that,

"Did you really have to do that?"  
>Leon shrugged,<p>

"Honestly, no. But, a part of me actually liked it."

Delgado shook her head,

"You're nuts, you know that?"

Her smile faded and said,

"You're the only person I trust with this information. I'm in trouble and need your help."

Leon looked at her suspiciously,

"How do I know you can be trusted? How do I know Lane hasn't sent you in here to get information?"

Miriam took out a photo,

"Because, Lane does not know about my daughter, Julienne. She was kidnapped by Amanda Waller's people and I have no idea where to look for her."

She had teary eyes as she said,

"If I help you escape, you have to find her. Find out if she is all right."

Leon looked at Miriam's eyes and he could tell she was being honest. He said,

"All right, I'll help. But, I need this nullifier off of me, and my lightsaber."

Miriam said,

"There's a research facility on the other side of the base. That's probably where the light saber is. I don't know exactly where; its restricted access, and only General Lane and a few others have access."

Leon said,

"Wouldn't General Lane get suspicious if you help me?"

Mirage shook her head,

"No. I have the cameras looped. As for the nullifier…I am sorry, but there is nothing I can do about that. It is bolted into your skull, but the research facility here may have something that can unlock it."

Crisis sighed,

"Great. Anything else I need to know?"

Mirage said,

"No. That's all."

She turned away,

"Please, you have to help me find my daughter. She's all I have left."

Suddenly, Crisis stood up,

"Show me where the facility on the base is."

Mirage was surprised,

"How, how did you do that?"

Leon said,

"While no one was around, I slipped out of the handcuffs. Normally, I would just break them, but, without my strength, I had to find another way."

The red-eyed commando then said,

"Well, are we going or what?"

Next Chapter:

Crisis and Mirage attempt an escape of the base, but first must get through General Lane and his troops. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	33. Chapter 33

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Bast, and Leon/Crisis. _

Chapter 33: Escape! Part 2 

Crisis and Mirage were stealthily navigating the hallways to the secret research section on the base. Miriam had knocked out a guard and Leon took his uniform, as to blend in with the other troops on the base. The red-eyed commando kept his head down as to not draw attention to his eyes, and Miriam was leading the way around the base.

In the security room, the guard watching the security cameras still thought he was watching the room Crisis was in. That was, until he narrowed his eyes at something. He panned in closer and, for a brief second, thought he saw a shadow in the room. The soldier called in,

"Unit 5, could you check up on the prisoner?"

A confirmation came across the intercom and, after a few seconds, a report came in,

"Prisoner has escaped!"  
><strong>Meanwhile…<strong>

General Lane was on a conference call with General Frank Rock and several other generals within the military. Frank Rock used to be a sergeant in a team called Easy Company back in World War II, and he was renowned for his team to battle through the most impossible of odds, only to come out victorious. Though he never sought promotion, Sergeant Rock was promoted nonetheless, and has risen through the ranks to general because of his hard-hitting, no-nonsense attitude.

General Rock said,

"General Lane, what is going on? Did you take a prisoner into your custody?"

Lane responded,

"Yes, I did, General Rock. This man Crisis has severely compromised Project OMAC."

Another general said,

"As I understand it, the Metal Men were already attacking the people at the facility when Crisis arrived at that base. How do you explain that?"

Lane shook his head,

"I am not the one that should be grilled for this! That terrorist we have in custody knows something and he knows about the Metal Men."

Rock said,

"What about Kasnia? Have you asked him about that?"

Another general on the line shook his head,

"It is doubtful that Crisis knew what was happening in Kasnia at the same time he was here. From what we can gather, this man does not technically exist. He's been very careful."

There was another response,

"He obviously can insulate himself from the rest of his team. However, I need not remind everyone that this is a very dangerous and legal line we are walking. If Crisis does not provide any useful information in the next twenty four hours, we are letting him go."

General Lane was upset,

"You can't let a suspected terrorist go like that! He compromised national security!"  
>General Rock said,<p>

"The Metal Men were already compromised before Crisis arrived. There is no direct link between him and the cause of the Metal Men to malfunction and the disappearance of Doctor Magnus. This meeting is over, gentlemen."

With that, the generals all hung up. General Lane could not believe it. He sat there, clenching his fists. He slammed the table down, shouting,

"What else do I need to go wrong today?"

Just then, the security alarm began to sound. One of the soldiers burst into the room and saluted,

"Sir, the prisoner has escaped!"

Lane groaned,

"Me and my big mouth."

**Back to Crisis and Mirage… **

Crisis looked up,

"I think we just woke up the neighborhood."

Mirage shook her head,

"We're almost there anyway. Just around this corner…"

As soon as she turned the corner, she ran back behind it as bullets were starting to fly. Leon, armed with a pistol, shook his head,

"This is not good."

He knew he should not have been firing, or even trying to kill the soldiers, as they were only doing their job. But, Crisis had to get the device off of his head and his lightsaber back. Remembering his training at SHIELD, he said,

"Mirage, watch my back."

He then rolled on the floor, firing at the shoulder of one of the two soldiers. He was reeled back and Crisis aimed for the second soldier, hitting him in the leg. When both were down, the red-eyed commando stepped on their hands, breaking some of their fingers. The soldiers screamed out and, as Crisis grabbed a key card, Mirage came near him with a gun pointed at one of the soldiers. Leon said,

"We don't need fatalities for this. They're only doing their job."

The door opened and shut behind them quickly. Mirage then pulled Leon near a wall and pointed the gun under his throat, her Brazilian accent becoming all too clear to hear,

"I'm only going through with this to get my daughter back. Nothing more. If a few people have to die, then so be it."

Leon shook his head. He was not invulnerable yet, but he said sternly,

"No killing. We get in, and get out, and that's it."

Miriam let go and said,

"If you try and stop me, I will kill you."

She looked around and said,

"We don't have much time. General Lane will be here any minute."

Leon took his gun and fired it at the card reader, sealing access from that doorway. He said,

"Let's go."

Behind the door, General Lane, armed with a platoon of troops, demanded,

"What's going on?"

One of the soldiers groaned out,

"General, Lieutenant Delgado is with him."

General Lane ordered,

"Open this door!"

One of the soldiers attempted to open it, but the card was not scanning. He said,

"Sir, it's sealed from the other side."

Lane turned around,

"Call in! They are not to leave this section under any circumstances!"

A few minutes had gone by as Crisis and Mirage had battled their way through his area of the base. Guards were wounded, but not killed. Almost all of them had their fingers broken.

The two had found the area where the light saber was being housed in for study. Crisis snuck up on one of the scientists and slammed his head into the table, knocking him out. He then picked up his weapon and said,

"Now, how do I get this thing off of my head?"

Miriam looked around,

"It's hard to say, but you may need to pry it off with something. It's in your skin, but it may also be in your skull as well."

Leon shook his head,

"Well, we're about to find out now, aren't we?"

Mirage picked up a scalpel and said,

"All right, try and sit still. We only have three inches of bullet proof glass between them and us."

Crisis sat down and, as Mirage was about to begin, Leon said,

"Actually, it's bullet resistant acrylic."

Miriam blinked,

"What?"

Leon looked up,

"What?"  
>The psychic illusionist shook her head,<p>

"Never mind. This will hurt."  
><strong>Meanwhile…<strong>

Lane and his platoon had found another way in and were closing in on the room. Suddenly, the whole base shook as the sound of something collapsing could be heard. They all followed the source and saw several walls had been decimated from a massive force.

Crisis and Mirage had escaped…

Next Chapter:

We switch gears now to a more happy occasion; Tigra and Blue Beetle's wedding! Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	34. Chapter 34

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Bast, and Leon/Crisis. _

Chapter 34: Wedding Bells Ringing 

We take a break from the chaos and from all the seriousness of this story to bring you a more upbeat and joyous occasion; Tigra and Blue Beetle's wedding. Since arriving in the new universe, Tigra had taken a liking to the cerulean costumed hero, which turned into deep affection and love the more time she spent with him. Ted had also taken a liking to Tigra, and, despite what many would think would be a shallow and shameless appearance, the inventor actually saw Greer as a deep, understanding, compassionate, and beautiful young woman. The two grew so fond of each other that, when Ted proposed, Greer happily accepted.

Tigra had made her feelings known to Yellow Jacket about the matter that time they had met. The striped heroine could not honestly be with someone if they felt as though they had such a deep jealousy for family. Hank's admission of being a little jealous was enough for Tigra to reject him and marry Blue Beetle.

At present, both the bride and groom are preparing for their moment at the altar. Blue Beetle is standing with his best man, Booster Gold, as well as Guy Gardner, Mister Miracle as ushers, and Martian Manhunter, who was playing the role of father of the bride. The inventor fidgeted with his tie,

"I hope this is right."

Booster smirked,

"The tie, or the wedding?"

Guy folded his arms,

"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I'm jealous. You're marrying probably the hottest woman on the planet."

The hero from the future grinned,

"And flexible. I mean, she is part cat."

Ted gave a look through the mirror,

"You two are unbelievable, you know that? First, you convince me to have a bachelor party-."

The red-headed Green Lantern scoffed,

"Which you should have had. I mean, my bar would have been perfect."

Mister Miracle folded his arms,

"I thought your bar was only good for drunken brawls."  
>Guy shrugged,<p>

"It is. But, it can be for a man's last night of freedom."

Blue Beetle looked at Guy,

"It's a complete mystery to me how Ice puts up with you. You know, if she found out about half the stuff you pulled-."

Guy waved his finger,

"What she doesn't know can't hurt her. Or me, for that matter."

Mister Miracle whispered to J'onn,

"Fifty bucks says there's a tape and it'll go viral."

The alien hero nodded,

"I shall take that bet."

Meanwhile, Tigra, in her wedding dress, was checking herself in the mirror as well. With her were Ice as the maid of honor, and Mary Marvel, Big Barda, Looker as bridesmaids. Tigra looked again,

"Are you sure this all right?"

Ice chuckled,

"Yes, Greer. It is."

Sue Dibny, wife of Elongated Man, walked in,

"Greer, honey, a letter came for you."

Greer said,

"Could you open it please? I just got my nails done."

As Sue opened it, she said,

"Greer, it's from Farrah."

At this, the tigress spun around,

"What?"

Sue handed her the envelope and there was a letter inside. It read,

_Sorry I couldn't make it, sis. I bet you're the best bride right now. Things have been kind of hectic lately, from what we've been doing to me being pregnant. Leon's all right too; and I think I'm starting to get through to him. He got captured by the military, but he managed to escape without killing anyone. He's with some girl named Mirage finding her daughter; and he's promising me there's nothing going on. I believe him. _

_Greer, I know how important this day to you is, and I want to be there. But, I'm expecting babies in a few weeks, and I just want you to know that we're sisters forever. _

_Signed, Persiana. _

A tear filled Greer's eye as she finished reading the note. Mary asked,

"Is something wrong, Greer?"

The tiger heroine swallowed and said,

"My sister's pregnant."  
>Mary and Ice cheered. Tora smiled,<p>

"That's wonderful. When are the babies being born?"

Greer shook her head,

"She didn't say. But, I'm glad she's still safe."

She gave the letter back to Sue and said,

"Can you keep this safe until after the ceremony?"

Sue nodded,

"Of course."

A few minutes had gone by before the ceremony began. It was a joyous occasion that many of the guests were enjoying every second. Then, things took a turn for the more interesting, and more insane.

The priest declared,

"If, there be any reason, why this man and this woman should not be wed, let them speak now, or forever hold their peace?"

For a brief moment, Booster Gold was thinking of shouting something to make himself look like an idiot. However, someone else was going to do that for him as the doors to the church swung open and a familiar voice cried out,

"GODDESS, I HAVE COME TO RESCUE YOU!"  
>That someone was Catman.<p>

Tigra clutched the bouquet tightly; the anger in her face was all too evident. She wanted to kill Catman, and she did not care she was wearing an expensive wedding dress to do it in.

Blue Beetle said,

"Catman, please. This is a wedding and-."

Catman sauntered closer to the altar,

"Silence, fool! Can't you see Tigra belongs with me? You have poisoned her mind with your sick and twisted poisons of seduction!"

Booster and Guy burst out laughing, while Ralph Dibny, the Elongated Man, failed to stop laughing. Sue and Tora slapped them all in the back of the head.

Tigra snarled,

"Catman, this is my wedding, and, if you don't leave, I will kill you."

The priest said,

"This is a house of God! There will be no violence!"

Catman declared,

"Of course, as soon as I take my bride and whisk her away to a far off land."

"CATMAN!"

A booming female voice echoed on the other side of the church. It was Catwoman, and she had a stroller with three babies inside. Selina shouted,

"YOU BASTARD! YOU GOT ME PREGNANT! I WAS SAVING MYSELF FOR BATMAN! YOU GOT ME DRUNK AND TOOK ADVANTAGE OF ME!"  
>Catman shouted,<p>

"You got me drunk and took advantage of me, you slutty seductress!"

Catwoman growled,

"These are your kids, and you aren't spending all your time chasing done every fur-covered bitch that you find! You're taking care of OUR children, starting right now!"

There was a boisterous applause from everyone. Catman looked aghast,

"But…but…but."

Catwoman grabbed Catman by the ear and pulled him out. Everyone then turned back to the priest, who stood their, blinking. He said,

"Is it all right if I declared you husband and wife now? I suddenly have the urge to retire from the church."

Guy shouted,

"Take it off!"

Greer rolled her eyes and then said to the priest,

"All right with us."

The priest nodded,

"Fine. I really need to get drunk and forget this whole thing ever happened."

Next Chapter:

When one relationship blossoms, another sours. Find out which one next time. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	35. Chapter 35

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Leon/Crisis, and Bast. _

Chapter 35: Ascending to the Stars 

Of course, despite wedding bells sounding for Tigra and Blue Beetle, there was also another relationship of note that was going through a very trying time right now.  
>That was the relationship between John Stewart and Hawkgirl.<p>

Both of these founders have had strong feelings for each other, but, within the last couple of months, Hawkman had been declaring that Shayera was his true love, stemming back from a time where the first Thanagarians that landed on Earth landed during ancient Egypt.

Even though Shayera had a son with John, she could not get it out of her head that, maybe, just maybe, she had some feelings for Carter. Whenever she was close to Hawkman, she would have a flash of a memory of something that happened in the past.

In one particular case of a flash, she saw herself as a cowboy, patrolling the Wild West, and she kept being called Cinnamon. She could not remember herself as a cowboy, but she saw a gun slinger named Nighthawk and he looked a lot like Carter Hall.

Shayera and Carter were spending time talking to each other, of why the Thanagarian woman was having these flashes. Hawkman insisted that this was her subconscious telling her that they belonged together.

John Stewart, meanwhile, was getting increasingly jealous. On several occasions, John tried to get Shayera away, even telling her that it was Carter was just trying to manipulate her into believing all of this. And, on more than a few occasions, fist fights had broken out between Hawkman and Green Lantern.

Weeks after the incident in Kasnia, as the League was attempting to determine what had happened and keep order in the country until a new government could instill some order, Hawkman was able to get Hawkgirl alone for a while. While John Stewart was out trying to help rebuild the country, Hawkman made a desperate attempt to get to Hawkgirl, seducing her and pleading with her that they were to be together.

Shayera fell under his spell and gave in to her desires. And, as John opened the door, he saw the two of them, naked.

Immediately, John flew in a rage,

"What are you doing?"

Shayera was snuggling against Carter's chest when she saw the hurt look on John Stewart and she covered her mouth in horror,

"John, I-."

The Green Lantern slammed his fist into the wall and stormed out of there, too angry to speak. Hawkgirl quickly fumbled for her clothes and, putting them on, chased after her teammate and friend.

John was storming to the hanger, not wanting to deal with this. Shayera, who had caught up with him, said,

"Wait, John!"  
>John turned around, snapping,<p>

"Why should I? It's obvious you love the guy!"

Shayera shook her head,

"No, please, John. I love you!"

The former architect and soldier rolled his eyes,

"Yeah, right! What was that just now, you two just going over the maintenance plans?"

Shayera shook her head,

"John, please listen to me."

John pulled away,

"Forget it. If he's convinced you that the two of you are meant to be together, who am I to get in your way?"

He activated his ring and said,

"If the League asks where I am, tell 'em I've gone out into space for a while, resuming patrol of my space sector."

Enveloped in a green aura, John Stewart flew out the airlock and into deep space. Shayera sighed and knelt down in the corridor, sobbing. She had lost a very important man in her life.

**Later… **

In the vastness of space, John Stewart was flying across it. It was peaceful and scenic to say the least, and John laid back on an asteroid as he looked at the stars. Billions of them, all with their own mysterious worlds and mysterious peoples. He had seen many in his sector already, but he could only imagine what the other worlds were like. He sighed and shook his head. John was angry; angry that Shayera would fall for such a lame ploy, in his mind. How could that be? Even if Shadow Thief had the artifact that showed them the vision of Ancient Egypt, it was still not a convincing argument. They could not have been reincarnated lovers. He just knew it was a trick.

A voice said,

"Hello, John."

John looked up and was stunned to see who it was,

"F-F-Fatality?"

Indeed, it was the former Sinestro Corps, now Star Sapphire, Fatality. She was wearing a revealing violet outfit that opened at the navel. John could not believe he was staring at the same woman that had been trying to kill him, that held him accountable for Xanshi being destroyed.

Fatality floated next to John and smiled,

"You're angry and alone, John. In the vastness of space, no less. What is it?"

She touched him lovingly as John asked,

"Fatality, what are you doing here?"

The former martial artist smiled,

"The Star Sapphires gave me a new purpose. I was so full of anger and hate that they helped me find my real self, and my real beauty."

She took his hand,

"Come with me, John. I found a small planet for me to show you my love."

Stewart wanted to fight back, but, there was something about Fatality that he could refuse. It was, as if, by becoming a Star Sapphire, Fatality had gained enchanting beauty. Beauty that no man could deny. Almost like a zombie, John was taken with Fatality to a small planet that resembled the Amazon rain forest of Earth, but without the natural predators. There, the cascading waterfalls and fresh flowers made the two feel like a paradise, a place of nonviolence, a place of relaxation.

It would be on this planet that John Stewart and Fatality would share their love, even though John had no idea he was in love with Fatality…

Next Chapter:

Crisis attempts to find Mirage's daughter, and a plan is formed on just how to do that. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	36. Chapter 36

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Leon/Crisis, and Bast. _

Chapter 36: Deal Breaker 

**In an undisclosed location… **

Crisis and Mirage were back at the Howling Commandos' base of operations, and the red-eyed commando was getting apprised of the situation that happened in Kasnia,

"So, the Red Skull really was making nerve gas."

Deadpool shook his head,

"Where have you been? Oh, wait; you've been captured by General Lane for the last few chapters. Now, we've got to reunite our psychic illusion making hottie with her daughter."

Miriam blinked,

"Yes, but how did you know that? We haven't told you what happened."

Deadpool smirked under his mask,

"Come on. Am I the only person that reads this thing? Speaking of which, Arsenal got a new arm."

Arsenal and Troia walked in, the red-headed archer having a new, metallic arm that replaced the one that Daken had cut off. Roy smirked,

"Hey, Leon."

Farrah walked in behind them, running as fast as she could with an enlarged stomach,

"Sweetie!"

Leon smiled,

"Farrah."

He hugged her, gently but strongly. The white-haired young woman said,

"In a few more weeks, I'll be a mother. I'm so happy."

A tear trailed down her cheek. This was the happiest she had been in a while, since being reunited with the man she loved.

Fury said,

"Well, now that we've gotten ourselves reacquainted, there's the matter to discuss about Mirage's kid."

Wade nodded,

"Right. And, we have nerve gas. Let's use it! Or, better yet, we can market it and sell it like cologne. Can you imagine the slogan? 'You'll be a real killer with this.' What do you think?"

Bast shook her head in disgust,

"You sicken me, mortal."

Deadpool grinned,

"Flattery will get you nowhere with me, my dear. Then again, it might."

Fire said,

"We still have not been able to locate Talia's child. Daken was incinerated before we had a chance to grab him."  
>Crisis added,<p>

"Not to mention the flare up I had before I got captured. It's bad. I know who Daken's working for, and it's really bad."

Deadpool clasped his hands on the side of his face,

"Oh noes! We're not going to find out because the insane author of this story is going to have us focus on finding Mirage's child first. And, maybe get back at General Lane too."

There was an uncomfortable silence as everyone looked at the Merc-with-a-mouth. Leon said,

"And I thought I scare people."

**Meanwhile… **

General Lane was meeting with General Rock, Amanda Waller, and the president of the United States, Pete Ross.

Pete Ross was from Smallville and portrayed himself as what the American spirit was all about; hardworking, determined, accepting, and promoting freedom. His election was controversial to say the least, with many believing him to be too young and too inexperienced to handle the power of the presidency, but Ross was able to prove them and his critics wrong at every turn. This vexed his opponents and often tried to ridicule his up-bringing as out of date for the future.

Presently, the president, in his late fifties, still had his blonde hair, but was also starting to show some gray. He sat down with his three guests and said,

"What happened?"  
>Lane said,<p>

"Crisis escaped, sir. He had help from my secretary."

Amanda added,

"Kasnia was also attacked by the Howling Commandos, sir. Several of our agents report Colonel Rajak was found dead in a laboratory we believe was making weaponized nerve gas."

Ross asked,

"Is there any way to determine whether or not the Howling Commandos have this nerve gas?"

Waller shook her head,

"Our agents are still working on that, sir."

She then said,

"If I may, Mr. President. Perhaps we should distance ourselves from the pursuit of the Howling Commandos. Technically, we can't prove they exist."

Lane looked at the head of Checkmate,

"Are you out of your mind? These terrorists are out there, possibly attacking the United States as we speak!"

Waller shook her head, saying,

"I realize what you are saying, but, it would be worse politically to go after ghosts. If we did anything to find them, a lot of other countries would think we are just using people as scapegoats for our own ends.

In the middle of the table was a speaker phone the president used to carry conference calls. It clicked on and a voice said,

"The woman has a point, Mr. President."

Everyone in the room blinked and Lane instantly recognized that voice,

"Crisis."

Crisis, on the other end of the line, chuckled,

"Hello, Lane. Tell me; how's the ear?"

Lane touched his bandaged ear and hissed,

"I will hunt you down to the ends of the Earth if I have to-."

Leon then said,

"You're looking for the nerve gas from Kasnia, aren't you?"

Ross narrowed his eyes,

"How did-?"

The red-eyed commando shook his head,

"Don't ask how I know these things, sir. Half the time, even I'm not sure how I know. The point is, I just do, and I want to make a deal."

Waller folded her arms,

"And, what makes you think we should be dealing with you?"

Crisis said,

"I may know something about the nerve gas you don't, but I want something out of it. A friend of mine lost a little girl and wants her back. The girl's name is Julienne Delgado."

Amanda maintained a stoic front as the president asked,

"That's it?"

Leon nodded,

"That's it. Oh, and, Mr. President, could you instruct everyone else to leave the room? I want to talk to you in private."

Lane stood up, slamming his fist on the table,

"What give you the right to make demands like this? I ought to-."

Ross said with authority,

"Lane, that's enough."

He nodded,

"Fine. They'll leave so we can talk."

Lane looked up, wanting to protest, but a stern gaze from the president prevented him from doing so.

Once the three were out, President Ross said,

"They're gone."

Crisis said,

"Thank you. Sir, I know that what you've heard of me and, to be honest, I don't like what I do either."

Ross was a but surprised by the statement,

"Then, why do you do it?"  
>Leon sighed as he leaned against a wall,<p>

"Sir, someone once told me that, if you don't do everything in your power to stop terrorists, then you might as well help them plant the bomb. It's something that's stuck with me for a while, and I know how restrictive and politically sensitive the office of the executive branch is. I've read up on you, sir. You're controversial, but can be trusted."

Ross nodded,

"All right. It sounds to me like you want to do more for your country. Why not just join the military?"

Crisis shook his head,

"I'm sorry, sir. While that is an honorable decision, the real threats are not something the military could combat under normal circumstances. At least, with my way, you would be totally insulated from our activities, and that people would think we're just shadows; myths that are used to scare children in the night. Mr. President, I give you my word, my team and I will not attack any person on U.S. soil. That is a guarantee."

Ross said,

"You know, despite your honesty, and I believe you that you won't do this, but I need more than if I am to take you seriously."

Leon nodded,

"I understand, sir, and I expect to be no less different than with me. If I agree to give you one canister of nerve gas as a sign of faith, plus a second for Julienne's location, would you agree to that?"

Ross thought it over for a minute. This was teetering dangerously close to the line of negotiating with terrorists, but, from all the intelligence gathered, which was extremely little, this group had not targeted any American interests. In fact, Crisis had gone out of his way not to harm any American lives, or any innocent lives. He was not a terrorist against the United States, but a lot of other countries may feel differently, especially in Kasnia. He said,

"Let me speak with my staff on how to proceed."

Crisis said,

"Fine, I'll call back later."

With that, he hung up. Ross called the three back in and said,

"Waller, find out about whoever this Julienne Delgado is."

Lane was furious,

"You're actually going to negotiate with this man? A known terrorist?"

General Rock shook his head,

"Sir, what are you going to do?"

Ross sighed,

"I don't know. I just don't know."

General Lane could not believe what was happening. The president of the United States was making a deal with a known terrorist. He had to do something, something that would save his country…

Next Chapter:

Lane plans a dangerous gambit against the Howling Commandos. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	37. Chapter 37

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I Own Farrah/Persiana, Leon/Crisis, and Bast. _

Chapter 37: Patriotic Response Part 1 

Farrah was lounging in the base's infirmary,

"Are you sure this is going to work, Leon?"

Leon shook his head, staring at the mirror,

"I don't know, to be honest. Hopefully, things go smoothly. But, I have this bad feeling something is going to happen. It's like when I blacked out before I got captured. I saw who was behind Daken, and, once this is over, we'll think of something."

He sighed and turned back to his pregnant girlfriend,

"Farrah, I know you're expecting, but is it really necessary to be in the infirmary right now?"

The white-haired cat-girl nodded,

"Leon, I could give birth in any day, and I want to be ready when I do. Besides, Bast and Donna are going to be here with me to help me through it."

The red-eyed commando smirked,

"But you wish I was here too, don't you?"

Farrah sat up, her enlarged belly touching the bed as she sat,

"Truthfully, I want you to be here so that, if they are your children, I can scream and swear all I want."

Leon said,

"And, if they're not mine."

"Then, you can hear me vent my frustrations out."

She smiled widely at that. Leon shook his head,

"I've known you for years, and I still have not figured you out."  
>Persiana leaned back, laughing,<p>

"I'm memorable, aren't I? Both in and out of the bedroom."

The swordsman could not help but chuckle at that,

"I guess your sense of humor is rubbing off on me."

He then kissed Farrah on the forehead and left with Mirage and a duffel bag containing the canisters of nerve gas.

**Meanwhile… **

President Ross was looking over the information on Julienne Delgado,

"Where is she now?"

Waller said,

"We found her in an abandoned apartment in New York City and she's being shuttled in to a hospital as we speak."

Lane spoke up,

"Mr. President I strongly urge you not to even consider bargaining with Crisis. He is a wanted terrorist!"

Waller looked back,

"If I may, Mr. President. Crisis and his Howling Commandos are not, nor do they seem to be, jeopardizing American interests. Honestly, if he is willing to shoulder this responsibility and do our dirty work for us, then, who are we to interfere?"  
>Lane slammed his fist down,<p>

"If this punk wanted to defend his country, he should join the army!"

Waller countered,

"Maybe he can't, and this is the only way he can think of that can help his country."

Lane spat,

"By being a cold-blooded killer, right? I thought that was what the Suicide Squad was for."

President Ross looked and noticed how quiet General Rock was about the whole thing. He asked,

"General Rock, you don't have anything to add to this discussion?"

Frank shook his head,

"To be honest, sir…I am still a little leary of trusting this man myself."  
>Lane smirked smugly,<p>

"Thank you! At least someone here agrees with me!"  
>The phone came on and Crisis' voice could be heard on the other end,<p>

"Knowing you, Lane, you'd be able to get a ham sandwich to agree with you."

Waller spoke up,

"Hello, Crisis."

Lane looked around and saw how calm everyone seemed to be. He, however, was livid,

"How dare you do this? What gives you the right to just call up whenever you want? You think we're a pizza place or something?"  
>Leon chuckled,<p>

"Trust me, Lane. If your paranoia was anything like your cooking, you could open a full service restaurant. But, I digress."

Ross nodded,

"Of course, Crisis. You have the nerve gas canisters, I assume?"

The red-eyed commando nodded,

"I do. But, I want Julienne's location first. Otherwise, no deal."

Lane wanted to go on a tirade, but Ross said,

"That's fine."

He nodded to Waller and the head of Checkmate nodded back, giving the address to Julienne's location. Crisis wrote it down and said,

"Before we finalize any arrangements, I want my people to check out the address."  
>Lane glared at the phone receiver,<p>

"You lowlife punk! You think we'd lie if there were weapons of mass destruction on the line."

Crisis said,

"It's been my experience that anyone is capable of anything. I just want to make sure that I'm getting my money's worth with what I paid for the product."

Leon then went to his ear piece, making sure that he was out of hearing distance,

"Is the girl there?"  
>Deadpool nodded,<p>

"Yep! Safe and sound!"

The red-eyed commando said,

"Good. Bring her to Mirage, and get out of there fast."

The merc-with-a-mouth saluted,

"Okey-dokey!"

Crisis then went back to the phone,

"It's all set. If you want to know where the nerve gas is, all you have to do is trace the call."

Ross was a bit surprised,

"Excuse me?"

Leon spoke slower and more clearly,

"Trace the call. That's all you have to do. I'll wait."

Just then, one of the Secret Service agents burst into the room,

"Sir, you're not going to believe this."

President Ross asked,

"What is it?"

The agent said nervously,

"The call that you're taking…sir,…it's coming from inside the White House."

Everyone in the room was surprised, even Amanda Waller. Lane twitched uncomfortably before speaking,

"What? Crisis is here?"

The agent shook his head,

"He seems to be. We can't pinpoint in what room he's in, but he is definitely inside the building. Sir, we have to get you to safety as soon as possible."

Ross nodded,

"Fine. We'll head for the presidential bunker."

As the Secret Service began moving the president and the other three people in the meeting to the secure presidential bunker underneath the White House, Lane hissed at Waller,

"How did he get in here?"

The African-American woman shook her head,

"I don't know. He's good, I will give him that."

They entered the presidential bunker and the Secret Service secured it. Lane breathed a sigh of relief,

"The president's safe."

"You call being encased inside ten tons of reinforced concrete safe?"

Lane spun around and was in total shock as he was staring face to face with Crisis. The sun-glass wearing commando smirked,

"Hi, guys."

Every Secret Service agent drew their weapons and got in front of the president to protect him. Leon, still carrying the duffel bag, rolled his eyes,

"You know, pointing guns at a guy who is not only invulnerable, but also carrying probably enough nerve gas to wipe out everyone on Pennsylvania Avenue is not the smartest thing to do."

Rock asked,

"You brought the nerve gas here?"  
>Crisis shrugged,<p>

"What? You think we were just going to meet in some abandoned warehouse. Seriously, it's cliché for me. Personally, I prefer to meet like this, so I can deliver the goods."

He placed the duffel bag on a table and raised his hands,

"Don't think of this as me surrendering. Think of this as trying to be honest as possible."

Ross ordered,

"Waller, check the bag."

As Amanda Waller peered inside, she saw the canisters of nerve gas and that infamous biohazard symbol. She nodded,

"It's sealed. No leaks."

Crisis smirked,

"Well, now that we've honored our agreement, I'll leave."

He took a step before all the guns followed, still pointing at him. Leon rubbed the bridge of his nose,

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

Lane shouted,

"You're under arrest!"

He was about to go for him when Crisis pulled out a gun and pointed it at the agents.

There was a chorus of guns clicking, but no bullets were being fired. The agents all checked their guns and tried to fire again. All of them did not seem to be working. Leon chuckled and, reached into his other pocket, pulling out all the firing pins to the hand guns.

Crisis checked his own weapon and shrugged,

"Huh, wasn't even loaded."

He tossed it to Waller and walked to the elevator. Punching in a code, the secure elevator car opened and Crisis stepped in. He waved,

"Bye, guys."

The doors closed and, by the time the elevator car opened for the agents to intercept, Crisis was already long gone…

Next Chapter:

General Lane takes matters into his own hands as he uses the nerve gas to make the Howling Commandos look bad. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	38. Chapter 38

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Leon/Crisis, and Bast. _

Chapter 38: Patriotic Response Part 2 

An animalistic roar filled the Howling Commando's base. Persiana was giving birth to her children, and, needless to say, it was a painful ordeal. Farrah shrieked,

"WHERE IS HE? WHERE IS LEON? I KNOW HE DID THIS TO ME!"  
>Bast was channeling a spell, attempting to lessen the burden of the birthing process,<p>

"I know you are in pain, but, you must endure. Not only for your sake, but for the sake of the cubs as well."

Farrah shouted,

"Right! Then, I can inflict all the pain I want on Leon! I know these are his kids!"

Roy whispered to Donna,

"That is the hormones talking, right?"

Donna shook her head,

"I do not think so. I think she is just being dramatic."

Farrah ran her claws on either side of her onto the infirmary mattress, let out another animal roar. The Amazon princess swallowed,

"Of course, I could be wrong."

**Meanwhile… **

Deadpool and Crisis had delivered Julienne to Mirage. Miriam smiled and hugged her daughter tightly, speaking in Portuguese,

"My sweet Julienne, I missed you so much!"

Julienne hugged her mother tightly,

"Mommy!"

Deadpool pretended to wipe a tear away,

"Don't you feel all warm and fuzzy seeing a mother and child reunite?"  
>Crisis said,<p>

"Is that anything like what you feel after finding a place that serves chimichangas?"

Wade blinked,

"Chimichangas? Where?"

He began looking around, hoping to find chimichangas. Leon shook his head, and then looked at the Delgados. The red-eyed commando said,

"You two have to be going. It's not safe here."

He pulled out an envelope and handed it to Miriam,

"There's money and two plane tickets to Rio. First Class. Get out of here as soon as possible."

Miriam nodded,

"Thank you. For everything."

As the two got into a cab and the vehicle drove off, Wade said,

"Hey, you tricked me! There were no chimichangas here!"  
>Leon rolled his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose,<p>

"Forget it, Wade. We have to get back to base as soon as we can. Farrah's-."

Just then, the commando began holding his head as a strong headache and flare up was taking place. He leaned against a wall, trying to focus. Deadpool clasped his hands on either side of his mask,

"Oh, no! Another vision! What could it be?"

He then looked at what he thought was a camera,

"Dude, is this how you're keeping the story going? You are completely lame you know that, right? I mean, what about Barry Allen? You've got to bring him back, don't you?"  
>Leon was able to focus and his eyes widened,<p>

"Watchtower is in trouble. We have to get there."

Wade grinned,

"Cool! We get to see the Justice League headquarters! Maybe Wonder Woman will dress up like the Black Queen again!"

Crisis shook his head,

"We don't have time for these antics, Wilson! Can your teleport device get us there?"  
>Wade shrugged,<p>

"Well, I could play around with it."

He took the teleporter device and began pressing buttons. Soon, a light enveloped them both and Deadpool smirked,

"It works! I think!"  
><strong>Aboard Watchtower…<strong>

General Lane was an American patriot. A man dedicated to his country, and he was determined to see that the Howling Commandos were treated as they should be; as terrorists, attempting to destroy the greatest nation in the world. Sam had rehearsed this plan once before with Colonel Flagg, a man he could trust. Flagg had the access codes to Watchtower and even found a way of getting a uniform as one of the maintenance staff. Carrying a case that was large enough to hold the canisters of nerve gas, Lane snuck aboard the Watchtower and was heading to the air duct the person he was impersonating was supposed to be working on. As he made his way to the room, he sealed the door and began his work in programming the nerve gas.

In another part of the Watchtower, J'onn J'onzz was overlooking some sensor readings when he detected something on the scanner,

"Superman, I am detecting an unknown energy signature. It is some sort of transporter beam."

In a flash of brilliant light, two figures appeared. They were Crisis and Deadpool. Wade looked around and blinked,

"Yeah! It worked! I knew it! I knew the writer of this crappy fic wouldn't kill me!"  
>Leon sighed heavily and looked around,<p>

"Did we make it in time?"  
>As soon as he finished asking the question, however, Wonder Woman came at him and pinned him to a wall, enraged,<p>

"You! You poisoned my sister's mind!"

Crisis struggled to breathe,

"Wonder Woman, please. Let me explain."  
>Hippolyta and Captain America had raced to the commotion and the queen of the Amazons stiffened,<p>

"What are you doing here?"

Wade blinked,

"From the looks of things, cougerella, I'd say Crisis is about to have his neck broken."

He tilted his head,

"Wow, Wonder Woman has nice buns."

Captain America came near Diana,

"Diana, let him go."

Leon choked,

"Do it, Wonder Woman. In five minutes, it's not going to matter."

The Amazon warrior let go and snarled,

"What do you mean?"

Deadpool said,

"You mean, you don't know? Haven't you been reading this thing? General Lane is going to deploy nerve gas and kill everyone here! I mean, it was like three pages ago that this happened?"

Leon nodded,

"Wade's right. Nerve gas is being deployed up here. Watchtower has to be vacated now."

Steve said,

"Are you serious?"

The red-eyed commando nodded,

"Yes, I am. We have to stop that nerve gas from being deployed."

Superman, who had heard it, contacted Martian Manhunter,

"J'onn, do you read me? Do you detect nerve gas in the vents?"  
>Mr. Terrific's voice came on,<p>

"Mr. Terrific here, Superman. I am not detecting any foreign substances in the air vents."

Leon shook his head,

"No, that's not right. He's lying."

Captain America looked at the young hero and said,

"I believe him."

Hippolyta asked,

"Are you certain?"

The shield-bearer nodded,

"Yes. I knew you were spying for Fury."

Leon blinked,

"What? You knew?"

Captain America shook his head,

"I'll explain later. Right now, let's stop this nerve gas."

**Meanwhile… **

General Lane had just finished setting up the final countdown to the nerve gas and was sitting in a chair in the room, holding a pistol. He let out a long held sigh, knowing that this was the end of his military career. Lane knew he would be court-martialed and convicted of terrorism and that was not what he was going to be remembered for. He was going to be remembered as a hero. The elder general put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger.

Superman heard the shot and he, followed by Crisis, ran in the direction of the shot. By the time the two got there, however, Lane was already dead. Superman then saw the nerve gas being funneled into the air vent and radioed in,

"Mr. Terrific, get rid of the gas."

Mr. Terrific responded,

"No, Kryptonian. You and your human allies will die!"

Crisis shook his head,

"That can't be good."

The Man of Steel said,

"Get to the control room. I'll see if I can secure this gas."

At this, the two sped off in different directions.  
>As the gas seeped throughout Watchtower, workers were dropping in the middle of the corridor, or wherever they were working. They gasped for air, frightened as to what was happening. They could feel their lungs closing up and their air ways being constricted by the deathly cloud. Superman did his best to suck in the toxic air, but, Lane had planted the canisters on opposite sides of Watchtower. Also, the gas itself was different from other types of nerve gas. It seemed that, when Superman inhaled it and tried to release it through an outside panel the gas would dissipate, but not immediately. It took time.<p>

Those crew members that were going to survive had sealed themselves in rooms containing oxygen. Several heroes had also done the same. Crisis was busy securing them, getting them masks and even holding off sealed areas for some of the panicked crew members to get help. Leon himself had secured a gas mask and hastily sped around the tower and handed them out.

Superman and Crisis regrouped and managed to reach the control room and, there, on the floor, was an unconscious Martian Manhunter. Mr. Terrific was busy at the control board and, as he turned, he sealed all of them in the room. Mr. Terrific glared,

"You humans will pay for ruining my planet! It's mine! So says Mister Mind!"

Next Chapter:

Superman and Crisis square off against the telepathic might of Mister Mind. Stay tuned, fellow readers!


	39. Chapter 39

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Leon/Crisis, and Bast. _

Chapter 39: The True Mind 

Deadpool was in a sealed room with Wonder Woman and some of the other heroes as well. Green Arrow asked,

"What's going on?"  
>Black Canary shook her head,<p>

"We were on our way out when the alarm went off."

Deadpool said excitedly,

"How can you not know what's been going on? Where have you been for the last few chapters, huh? All of Watchtower is filled with highly toxic nerve gas. It's the author's lame excuse for killing off most, if not all, the civilians that the Watchtower employs!"  
>He then blinked, adding,<p>

"Wow, the funeral costs are going to be expensive. Can you imagine all the traffic jams that'll be caused by the funeral procession? And the food? A lot of grieving families are going to be stuffing their faces to try and forget the pain and-."

Wonder Woman grabbed the wise-cracking mercenary and said threateningly,

"Be. Quiet."

Deadpool tilted his head slightly,

"You know, you're cute when you're angry."

Hippolyta groaned,

"For the love of the gods, I shall kill him myself."

Wade laughed,

"Hah! Nothing can kill me! Not unless readership goes down and people want me killed off. But, who would want that? I'm Deadpool, the saving grace for this and any other fic involving me in it."

He then said,

"Unless their Cable/Deadpool pair-ups. I totally do not swing that way. Or, any other slash fics that I see. Read my lips; there is nothing going on between me and Bob. He's my minion and that's that!"  
>Ollie held his head, trying to drown out a headache,<p>

"And Crisis is teamed up with this guy."

Deadpool cleared his throat and said in a dramatic announcing voice,

"And now, we go back to Superman and Crisis, who are now attempting to fight Mister Mind inside Mr. Terrific's body!"  
>Canary was about to say something, but Ollie shook his head,<p>

"Don't go there, Lady Bird. Just don't go there."

**Meanwhile… **

Superman and Crisis were trying to find a way to get Mister Mind out of Mr. Terrific's head. The possessed genius launched the T-Spheres at the two powerhouses. The Man of Steel cut through one with his heat vision,

"We've got to get him away from the control panel."

Crisis used his lightsaber and cut through the T-Sphere,

"I'm going for it."

He sped his way to Mr. Terrific and back-handed him away from the control panel. Mr. Terrific hit the seal and fell down. Superman checked him,

"He's dead. You killed him."

Leon shook his head,

"Now really is not the time for ethics, Superman. Mister Mind overrode the orbital controls to Watchtower. He's sending it to Earth."

The Kryptonian hero was stunned,

"What? How?"  
>Crisis looked at Superman,<p>

"I have a feeling Terrific was already dead and Mind only used his body. We can't be bogged down on some moral debate right now. Right now, we need Watchtower evacuated before we hit the ocean."

It was around this time J'onn J'onzz was recovering as he held his head,

"What happened?"

Leon said,

"Watchtower was attacked with nerve gas, and most of the crew is dead. Most of the heroes managed to get to sealed rooms, but right now, Watchtower is crashing into the ocean."

The Martian Manhunter nodded,

"I see. Superman, we must get everyone out of here before there is any more loss of life."

Superman nodded,

"All right. J'onn, head to the auxiliary control room and see if you can flood the vents. Maybe, we can burn the gas out as we're crashing. I'll head outside and guide the Watchtower so that it doesn't go into a city."

As the two were leaving, Crisis asked,

"Hey!"

The two founders turned and the red-eyed commando asked,

"What am I supposed to do?"

The reporter looked at him,

"Make sure I don't crash this thing into the ocean. You'll have to guide me in."

Leon nodded,

"Right. I can use my ear piece. It's tapped into your frequency."

Clark was about to say something, but was grabbed by J'onn and phased through the gas. Leon shook his head,

"I hope this works."

He sat at the control panel, trying to figure out the readings.

Outside the Watchtower, Superman was able to get to the exterior of the massive station and began pushing on the metallic exterior. At this point, the station was already entering the outer atmosphere and was becoming red hot. Superman could feel his flesh burning, ready to be seared off of his bones as he pushed harder and harder against the crippled Watchtower.

As he was doing this, J'onn managed to make his way through the gas, as it seemed to be ineffective against Martians. He found the emergency air duct controls and began flooding the gas outside of the station.

In a few seconds, the gas had slipped out long enough for there to be breathable air and the sealed doors opened. Diana ordered,

"Get to the Javelins and get off this station. I'm going to help Superman guide this thing in!"  
>Hippolyta wanted to beckon her daughter to be cautious, but there was a look in Diana's eyes that said the princess was going to be all right. She quickly made her way, with Captain America to a Javelin shuttle.<p>

Crisis radioed in to Superman,

"O-K, Superman. We're over the ocean now. Just ease off and this thing will land in the ocean safely."

Deadpool's voice came on the ear piece,

"Aw, and here I was thinking that the Watchtower was going to crash into Metropolis, killing thousands of people. You know what, Mr. Author Man, you suck!"  
>Leon and Clark both blinked at that and the red-eyed commando shook his head,<p>

"And people say my girlfriend is crazy."

If one were to look up at the sky at this point, they would see a flaming object crashing into a deserted part of the ocean, the white hot metal of the once proud and great Justice League Watchtower now no more than a hunk of scrap metal, ripe for plundering of any super villain foolish enough to try and take it.

The end of the Watchtower era had finally come…

Next Chapter:

As the League attempts to rebuild from the ashes of the Satellite Era, the Howling Commandos are making friends with strange bedfellows. Don't miss the exciting conclusion next time!

Deadpool walks out,

"Hey! You're going to be finishing this up next chapter! Dude, don't you know how many story holes you have to fill? What about Barry Allen? Is he coming back? And the Red Skull? And, what about the mysterious vision Crisis had when he got captured? And Talia's baby? What about that? Have you forgotten that? Huh? How can you possibly end it all in one chapter? Huh? Tell me how!"

**Quiet, Wilson! I'll think of something. **

Deadpool rolled his eyes,

"Oh, yeah. You'll think of something. You also forgot about Persiana's babies? What the hell? Whose are they? Are they Leon's or not?"

**I'm saving that for a surprise, Deadpool. Now, shut up and let me work! **

The insane author goes to a desk and begins playing with a race car,

**Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! **

Wade squealed,

"Can I play too? Can I?"

Superman walks out,

"I still don't get how these morons have fans. What is the appeal? Huh? What is it?"

Superman then gets hit over the head with a mallet, getting knocked out by the insane author and Deadpool.


	40. Chapter 40

**One Year Later **

_Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana, Leon/Crisis, and Bast. _

Chapter 40: Hidden Secrets 

Deadpool walked on stage,

"And here we are; the last chapter in this story arc. You know, I've got to say, it's been a nice run. I mean, I got to chop up some bad guy Nazis, steal nerve gas, and even watched as you totally destroyed Watchtower! All in all, it's been a great forty chapters!"

**Don't get too comfortable, Wilson. The show's not over yet. **

Superman groaned from backstage,

"Can we start this already? I don't know how much longer I can stand the suspense. Add to the fact that I was knocked out."

**Chill out, Boy Scout. I've got this. And now, the conclusion of One Year Later… **

**At Wayne Manor… **

The founders, minus John Stewart, were all meeting to discuss the next course of action. John Stewart, the Green Lantern that helped found the Justice League, was incommunicado and it was now down to five; Hawkgirl, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter.

J'onn said,

"There has been a needless loss of life today."

Batman growled,

"That's it. From now on, no more civilians involved. We put ourselves in danger, not the people that can't defend themselves. When we build the next Watchtower, we're doing it in a location that can't be compromised. Not like it was."

Hawkgirl nodded,

"I agree."

Diana asked,

"But, where would we build it?"

"The Moon sounds like a good idea."

Everyone turned and Nick Fury was leaning in the doorway. Superman stood up,

"How did you-?"

The one-eyed leader of the Howling Commandos chuckled,

"You should know by now I can go where I want, when I want. Besides, the security in this place was just as bad as Watchtower."

He sat at the table, not noticing the looks he was getting. Or simply not caring. He pulled out his cigar and was about to light it when Batman said,

"No smoking."

Fury took one look at the Dark Knight and lit up, defying the Caped Crusader right there on the spot. J'onn was a bit surprised,

"Are you sure that is wise?"

Fury looked back,

"It's my body. If you don't like it, open a window."

He puffed a little before leaning forward,

"I nearly bit of the kid's head for this. He screwed up."

Superman asked,

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Fury took out his cigar,

"Crisis made a deal to get this kid back from the Feds. He hand-delivered two canisters of nerve gas we stole from Kasnia, courtesy of the Red Skull and a guy named Colonel Rajak."  
>The room grew silent as Fury continued,<p>

"Kid thought he had could deal his way to get what he wanted. Honestly, I can see why."

Diana shook her head in shock,

"And you let him do this?"

Fury scoffed,

"Kid did it behind my back. Believe me; he's feeling worse about this than you do."

Hawkgirl growled,

"He ought to! Innocent people died because of what Crisis did!"  
>The former head of SHIELD laughed,<p>

"Oh, please. If the situation was you instead of Crisis, wouldn't you want to make a deal?"

Batman narrowed his eyes,

"The weapons would have been destroyed. You risked releasing that gas in Kasnia!"

Fury responded with a straight face,

"Better there than here, right?"

Superman grabbed the colonel by his throat and slammed him into a wall,

"You're a monster."

"Superman, put him down."

Captain America was standing in the doorway. He said,

"Superman, please."

The Man of Steel sighed and put him down. Cap looked at Fury,

"Nick, I'm sorry, but Superman does have a point."

Fury shook his head,

"Don't go there, Steve. I've done things as a member of SHIELD and as the head of SHIELD that would border on the inhuman, even by a villain's standards. The difference here is that I let you get all the glory because people look up to you. People actually respect you, all of you as heroes."

He looked back at the heroes,

"Don't get me wrong. You've all put your lives on the line, saving the day, putting the bad guys in jail. I have to deal with the cold reality of the situation that there are some people that are simply unwilling, incapable, or even fit the definition of a human being that have to be stopped. It was never about glory for me. It was never about being in the spotlight. It was always the trenches for guys like me. Guys like Crisis, too."

Fury sighed and shook his head,

"These are my decisions and I'll face the consequences for them when it's time. And, right now, it ain't time."

As he was about to leave, Batman asked,

"And when would that be?"

Fury looked back and said,

"I'll know. Believe me. I'll know."

**Meanwhile… **

Crisis was sitting in the infirmary bed at the Howling Commando base. He sat in a chair next to his girlfriend Farrah, who had fallen asleep after hours of labor delivering four beautiful babies.

Three of the babies were girls, but the fourth, her son, was born first. He looked like a normal human baby boy. Farrah smiled when she held him.

All the girls had red, cat-like eyes, but only two of them looked more feline, like their mother. The girls were all resting in separate cribs, but Leon was holding the boy. He looked at him and smiled. He shook his head, saying,

"So, you're my son."

Leon held the baby close,

"I can't believe you're actually my son. I mean, for sure, I thought…"

He swallowed and put the baby back in his crib. Farrah stirred at that moment and looked up at Leon,

"Leon, honey?"

Crisis looked back,

"Yes, Farrah?"

Persiana smiled,

"What do you think?"

"I think they're all beautiful children. Are they…?"

"I know they're not yours. But, that doesn't mean that you can't raise them with me?"

Leon nodded,

"Yeah."

His smile then faded as he looked back at Farrah,

"Have you thought of names yet?"

The white-haired cat-woman shook her head,

"Not yet. I was thinking of you naming our son."

Leon chuckled,

"I really haven't thought of one, to be honest."

Farrah curled into a ball,

"How about…Lance?"

Leon looked back,

"Really?"  
>Farrah nodded. Leon then looked at his son,<p>

"Lance. I like it."

**Two days later… **

With plans to build the new Watchtower were being discussed, Crisis and Fury had got to talking to use one of the bases they had used earlier in their mobile travels. The base was located in the secluded area of the Rocky Mountains, which did not seem like much, but it was away from civilization.

It was also in this two day period that Barry Allen, the second Flash, had been revived and, as it turned out, he had a lot of catching up to do, from history and new heroes, to the situation involving Persiana's arrival and the other world that she came from.

Around this time as well, the heroes from the Justice League had all been gathered in one location and Crisis and Fury decided to address them. Leon said,

"I know we've been a bit hospitable to you because of your plight, and, I know that all of you are going to need to take time to mourn and rebuild what you've lost, so, feel free to use this base as long as you need to."

Fury then ordered,

"All right, commandos. Move out."

As the Howling Commandos left, Superman asked,

"What was that all about?"

Batman shook his head,

"I don't know. But, they are definitely not telling us something."

Captain America nodded,

"I agree, but I trust Fury. Whatever it is, he knows how to handle it."

In another hall, Troia asked,

"Why did you not tell them of the vision, Leon?"

The red-eyed commando explained,

"I don't know anything about this guy Daken's been taking orders from, and I don't want to have to tell Batman his son is with him."

Roy blinked,

"Wait, what? Batman has a son?"

Fury nodded,

"From what Talia said, I believe her."

A door opened and in stepped the commandos. A woman wearing a dark suit and dark black hair swiveled around in the chair. She purred an accented greeting,

"Colonel Fury."

Fury responded back coldly,

"Talia al-Ghul, Ra's al-Ghul's daughter."

Talia said,

"I thank you again for treating me and getting me out of that horrible prison."

Fury said sternly,

"Don't flatter yourself. You have information we need and this is only a mutual understanding. Personally, I'd let Crisis take a shot at you just to see if you'd break."

Talia looked a little surprised,

"Surely you would not take advantage of a woman of my beauty, would you not?"

Leon said,

"The thought never occurred to me. Besides, I've done some very bad things to people in this line of work."

Talia nodded,

"So I understand. All right, I will help you, but, I want your word that you will retrieve my son from my father and make me head of the League of Assassins."

Fury nodded,

"Sure. If it'll take down Ra's al-Ghul, then I'm all for it."

Deadpool grinned,

"And that concludes our story! Stay tuned, everybody! More insanity and more action coming soon!"

Talia blinked and asked,

"Is he always like this?"

Leon groaned,

"You have no idea."

End of One Year Later


End file.
